Cap-Force
by Frequent Reader
Summary: In a multiverse of powerful individuals, an unknown entity plots to wipe everything out to begin everything anew. Heroes of all types spanning space, time, and dimensions must band together to save all existence.
1. Prelude to Darkness

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Introduction: I had this idea on the backburner for a while since going through Marvel's Infinity Stone Saga comic story. We've had Marvel vs. Capcom, so I thought, how would one for the Capcomverse be like? Heavily inspired by Marvel's Infinity Stone Saga and after watching Avengers Endgame.

Prologue: Origins of the End

Long ago in ancient times, before most life began, there was a highly advanced civilization. They were a race of celestial beings who were masters of magic and technology. When their civilization evolved, so too did their ambitions. Using all the powerful magic they could muster, they sought to create the ultimate weapon to use and bend to their will to make other worlds submit to their rule. The creators succeeded in giving birth to a living creature with godly powers, but unfortunately they succeeded too well. They failed to take into account that their weapon would evolve and turn on its masters once it realized it was better than them, and as a result, their world was destroyed, all due to their dreams of grandeur.

The weapon destroyed its creators, but its hunger for destruction wasn't sated. It traveled to other worlds and even dimensions, leaving destruction in its path. Its powers evolved on a frightening level, even gaining the power to spread destruction across space and time to the point of even invading alternate universes. Eventually, it evolved a consciousness, no longer just a mindless monster, now a cold calculating entity believing the universe is too imperfect for its tastes. By its logic, the only way to remedy this is to destroy everything and rebuild anew, viewing the method as 'necessary and beneficial'.

There had been many who opposed this great evil and sought to defeat it, causing a great war for the sake of survival. Many have been lost in the war, but they managed to defeat the evil. The entity was severely weakened and was cast away into a black hole in the hopes of destroying it once and for all.

The evil entity still had a semblence of consciousness after realizing what had happened. After getting tossed into a black hole, it realized it had been instead sent into another universe just before the Big Bang. A new universe ripe for the taking. However, it had been too badly weakened to do anything and was forced to lay dormant in order to recoup its strength. Once the Big Bang happened, it was sent hurdling and made part of a certain planet as it was forming. For the next few millenia, it laid dormant, plotting…

Several millenia passed, and life began anew for the new universe and its corresponding alternate universes…

Present day, unknown location…

In the middle of the vast ocean was a small island. It looked like any other island, deserted, ordinary, not distinguishable in any way. However, this island was once the latest stronghold of Shadaloo, the international criminal organization bent on world domination. Lead by the tyrant, M. Bison, he plotted to take over with his Psycho Power and amass an army of the world's best fighters. Anyone who had gotten in his way had paid with their lives. Their latest scheme was to release powerful EMP waves across the globe using a satellite array known as the Black Moons, but when that was thwarted, tried to bring the giant satellites down on Earth which could have caused an armaggedon. They were stopped by Interpol and a motley crew of street fighters.

Three months have passed since the Black Moons incident. With the apparent death of M. Bison, Shadaloo all but vanished. Now, the base has been destroyed, all that was left were ruins of the once mighty criminal organization. Within the center of the ruins deep underground was the remains of where the Psycho Drive once stood, now broken down and dormant from months of neglect.

Until now…

Suddenly, the Psycho Drive began to hum as if reacting to something. From the base of the destroyed machine there was a pool of a black substance that grew gradually until it overtook the Psycho Drive.

"Yes… this will do nicely..."

Somewhere in the distant future…

At the base of a dormant volcano was an abandoned mine. It was formerly used to mine for materials for robot parts but had been destroyed during the long battle known as the Maverick Wars. The place was littered with destroyed machinery and reploid parts, completely devoid of any sentient life. Save for two individuals.

"Clear." said the first person. He looked human, but he is actually a Maverick Hunter, a reploid tasked with keeping the peace and eliminating Mavericks. The youth was clad in what looks like a light blue full-body suit with dark blue armor parts over it. His sharp—ridged blue helmet only exposed his face, sporting what looked like a red gem in the middle. While he had a left hand clad in a white glove, his right was a built-in arm cannon.

"Careful, we don't know what might be down here, X." said the other person. He was similar to the one called X, but was mostly red with yellow trim. His helmet had sharper protrusions with a blue gem in it and a long shock of blonde hair tied in a ponytail came out the back of his head. Instead of an arm cannon, he held what looked like a green laser sword.

"I hear you, Zero. Still, the place looks empty. No one's been in her for months." said X.

"Which makes it a perfect place to hide out in." said Zero. "Our intelligence at HQ said there was an anomaly and the coordinates lead to this very spot."

"You don't suppose it's… _him_, do you?" asked X.

"Wouldn't be the first time. Be prepared for anything..."

The two Maverick Hunters descended down deeper through the mines.

"X! Zero! Do you read?"

X and Zero tapped the com links on their helmets. "Loud and clear, Alia."

"I'm picking up strange energy readings from below your current position." said Alia.

"It's unlike anything we've encountered before so I strongly suggest caution." said another voice in the com line.

"Will do, Layer." said Zero.

"Just don't overdo it..."

X and Zero go down a staircase which lead into a dark room.

"Guys, the energy level is picking up!" said Alia in the com link.

The two Maverick Hunters look ahead and see something glowing in the darkness.

Somewhere in the distant past…

A calming wind blows through the fields of what looks like Feudal Japan. Following the winds, it passes through a certain village. An old lady was hanging her laundry to dry, a man was training with what looked like a broadsword made of wood, a young woman was tending to a rice field, a boy was playing with his dog near a radish field, and an old man with an orange on his head was doing what looked like a ritual dance before a tree.

Just a typical day in Kamiki Village.

Near the back of the village stood the sacred guardian tree, the Konohana Tree, which protected Kamiki for years. Suddenly, a light sprung forth from the tree, taking the form of a young woman with black hair tied in a bun shaped like the tree held by a leaf-shaped tie while the front strands were long and wide, reaching down to her waist. She was clad in a short pink slit skirt and a midriff-baring pink and green top ensemble. She also has a veil made of a purple mist around her arms that seemed to float upward.

"I see Kamiki is as peaceful as ever. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom."

"Sakuya babe!"

The one called Sakuya looked over to see what looked like a glowing green bouncing ball.

"Oh Issun, how long has it been?"

"Too long! I've been all over Nippon spreading the word about the Gods and Ammy!" said Issun. "Being a Celestial Envoy is hard work..."

"Yes, but it is beneficial for all." said Sakuya: "We've all experienced a time of peace that Nippon had been bereft of since the coming of Yami."

Issun nods as he thought of his past journey with the Goddess of the Sun. He missed the days of helping the reincarnation of Shiranui regain her lost godhood and defeat the evil plaguing the land. "I'm sure that furball is working hard up there. Just wish I could see her again."

"We all miss Amaterasu, Issun. However, she's got new responsibilities on the Celestial Plain."

Issun looked over to the stone platform where the statue of Shiranui once stood before Sakuya gave it life again. _'It was here where it all began, where I met Ammy. Of course, I was in Sakuya's deep valley beforehand. Heheheh… sigh, it felt like it was just yesterday when the work was suffering from an enveloping darkness'_

"Something wrong, Issun?" asked Sakuya.

"Oh, just reminiscing, babe." said Issun. "Well, let's pray for more peaceful days to come!"

"Of course!"

That was when a distant rumbling was heard. Issun and Sakuya looked up in confusion at the sudden change in weather.

"Huh What's going on?" asked Issun.

"I don't know… but I have a bad feeling about this..." said Sakuya.

Unknown place, unknown time…

Within a dark void, a pulsating energy began to stir.

'_Once I gather my strength, I'll remake this multiverse!'_

With that, certain points in the multiverse throughout space and time became tainted.

To be continued...


	2. Into the Unknown

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 1: Into the Unknown

Unknown place, unknown time…

On a barren wasteland, there stood an army of nocturnal monsters; zombies, demons, killer plants, vampire bats, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, and many more. Before them stood one lone man, a knight. He was clad in silver armor and an open helmet, showing the face of a middle-aged man with a brown mustache and beard. He held in his hand a steel jousting lance. The knight looked at the monster hordes before the shadow silhouettes of larger demons appeared behind them, one of them holding a young blue-haired woman in a white dress in his massive hand.

The knight raised his lance into the air.

"Sir Arthur is ready to do battle! Please wait for me, my Princess!"

With that battle cry, Arthur charges at the monster horde. It would have been considered suicidal facing such odds, but Arthur would do anything to rescue his Princess Prin Prin and has done so in the past, going through numerous demon realms to get her back. The knight threw his lance straight through a zombies head before shishkabobing through three goblins. He whips out a crossbow and fired an array of arrows that shot down some bats and a flying demon. Then Arthur throws a flurry of daggers into a group of ghouls before burning some ghosts with a holy torch. Some goblins try to blindside him, but Arthur throws a sickle that boomerangs around and struck them down before catching it followed by throwing an axe into a demon's face. Arthur continues to fight through the horde as he makes way for the shaded demon lords holding his princess hostage. Just as he gets within range, they merge into another unknown being before it vanished with its captive, causing Arthur to scream in horror.

"PRINCESS!"

Arthur suddenly finds himself in bed in his castle. He had a cold sweat running down his face as he had awoken from his nightmare.

"Huh… just a dream..." said Arthur.

"Arthur?"

Arthur looked up to see a young woman with straight blue hair wearing a white ornate dress coming in. "Oh, Princess..."

"Now Arthur, what have we talked about?"

"Sorry, Prin Prin, force of habit."

"It's fine. Just remember, you are my king now, and I am your queen."

Arthur could only smile. Time and time again, he had proven he was worthy of the princess after going into the Demon Realm alone to rescue her from her demonic captors. Astaroth, Satan, Lucifer, Demon Lord Samael, Hades, and Dark Astaroth, demon conquerors who had hoped to take over the human realm, but were stopped by the Silver Knight. After the last debacle, Arthur and Prin Prin got engaged and were married. They had a time of peace since then.

"Old habits die hard, you know?" said Arthur.

Prin Prin sat down next to Arthur. "Had a nightmare again?"

Arthur looked down. "Yes… you were taken again by those demons..."

Prin Prin could only blush in embarrassment. "Yes, well that seems to be a recurring thing for me, isn't it?"

"But it felt so real. It wasn't like all the others before." said Arthur. "I wasn't able to save you that time..."

"Arthur, it was just a nightmare. Perhaps you're just stressed out." Prin Prin assured. "Besides, I know you. You've never let me down, and I always have faith in you."

"You flatter me, my Queen."

"Well, you should get up. You were planning to train the kingdom's knights today, are you not?"

Prin Prin then leaves Arthur's room. After a moment, the new king gets up and headed for his dresser, where his newly polished armor was on display. The suit of armor had seen him through in many a vicious battle with the demon hordes. Sure it broke apart at times, leaving him in his boxers, but it always magically came back to him fully mended whenever he found a certain treasure chest. One could say it was enchanted.

Once Arthur donned his armor, he headed down for the castle courtyard. That was when he noticed something wrong. The castle was strangely quiet. Reason being was that no one was around.

"Huh? Where are the servants?" wondered Arthur. "Hello? Anyone?"

The Silver Knight was increasingly worried as he made a mad dash for the courtyard. When he got there, he saw it also empty, devoid of life. It was deathly silent as Arthur looked around, noticing what looked like pieces of ash blowing about in the wind. Something about it seemed unnatural even for him.

"What is this?" wondered Arthur.

"Ar.. thur…?"

Arthur turned to see Prin Prin standing there looking unwell.

"Prin Prin?"

"Arthur… I don't…" Prin Prin falls to her knees as ashen particles float off of her.

Arthur quickly runs up to and catches her in his arms. "Prin Prin! Stay with me now!"

Prin Prin doesn't hear as her eyes slowly closed just before her body disintegrates into dust blowing in the wind. Arthur could only stare wide-eyed at where his queen once was. He didn't have time to react when the ground below him turned into a dark swirling mass, sucking him in like quicksand.

Present day, somewhere in Japan…

The city bustled with activity as people went about their daily lives, getting to work, hailing taxis, going out for a bite, meeting others, following the flow of traffic, whatever. There was one individual who stood out like a sore thumb. Walking down the streets was a well-muscled man with dark brown hair carrying a travel sack over his shoulder. What set him apart from everyone else was that he was wearing a white karate gi with the sleeves torn off, his black belt tied tightly around his waist. He had on red fingerless gloves, a long red bandanna around his head, and was barefoot.

Ryu Hoshi is a wandering world-class martial artist trained in the Shotoken style under Gouken. For him, the art was his life and is always out seeking new challenges in his never-ending quest to be the best fighter in the world. For that, he continues to walk the globe to fight the world's strongest in order to test his own skills. It was a long and hard journey, as well as lonely. At first, Ryu was perfectly fine with that. Still, it never hurt to catch up with old friends, and he had gotten an email from Ken saying that he's been summoned to the Kanzuki Estate (he finally was able to figure out how emails work). If the Kanzuki Zaibatsu was involved, it must be important.

"Ryu-san! Wait up!"

Ryu stopped to turn towards a young woman with short brown hair wearing a Japanese college uniform consisting of a black vest with pink trim over a white button-down shirt, a black pleated skirt with frills, knee-high black sock and short boots. She also wore around her head a long red bandanna like Ryu and red fingerless gloves. One could think she's a female version of Ryu.

"You should be used to this, Sakura." said Ryu.

Sakura gave Ryu an indignant look. "Come on! It's been a while since I did this, Ryu-san!" said Sakura.

The girl was the self-proclaimed fan of Ryu, as he was her inspiration to become a fighter herself. While she was in high school, Sakura managed to mimic Ryu's Shotokan style to a degree, eventually making it her own, then impulsively went on a journey to find the man himself to test her skills. When Sakura met Ryu, she found he was more than what she initially heard about him and had a tough fight, resulting in her defeat. Still, she had gotten praise from the World Warrior, encouraging her to keep up with her training if she was serious about becoming a fighter. Of course, being a fighter had its annoyances, a certain red-clad blonde girl came to mind. Now, Sakura is a college student working a part time job at an arcade. For the first time in a while, she was able to travel with Ryu again.

"Think of it as training." said Ryu. He's always been used to traveling on foot.

"Sure… training..." muttered Sakura. "Still, I wonder what Karin wants now?" Sakura had a bad history with the Kanzuki girl in the beginning due to her obsession with her rivalry with the Shotokan practitioner, but they've more or less buried the hatchet between them.

"I doubt it's for a simple social call." said Ryu. "Last time it was about Shadaloo."

"It can't be, Ryu-san. You and the others put an end to them!" said Sakura.

"That may be true, Sakura, but they have ways of coming back." said Ryu.

They come across the large ornate gates of the Kanzuki Estate. Ryu knocked on one of the heavy doors, and after a moment, a man in a suit and tie opened the gate.

"Ryu Hoshi. Sakura Kasugao. We've been expecting you. Please come this way."

The two nodded and followed the man inside as the gate closed behind them.

Somewhere in North America…

It was late at night in the forest outskirts of a city where an unknown research facility resides. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, save for the trail of dead bodies littering the ground. Upon closer inspection, these bodies were undead. All of them suffered from several gunshots, some torn apart or even headless.

Inside the facility, two people, a man and a woman, ran through the laboratory halls after having killed several zombies and other horrors. They come across a hi-tech door and press themselves on either side of it on the wall as they held their guns at the ready. Giving each other silent signals, the two charge through the door with their guns pointed as they scanned the surroundings. It was a huge two-story room with delicate experimental tools and machinery with what looked like stasis chambers lining the walls. The second level looked to be a control and observation center.

"It looks to be the main area, Chris." said the woman. She was an attractive blonde with her hair tied in a tight ponytail and wore what looked like a dark blue spy catsuit, the front slightly unzipped to show some cleavage. She had a small submachinegun strapped to each of her thighs and a grenade launcher on her back.

"Looks that way, Jill." said Chris. He was a well-built man with short brown hair wearing a green and gray shirt with grey knee-padded pants and combat boots. He also had on black fingerless gloves and a green survival/ammo vest. Slung over his back was a combat shotgun and an assault machinegun. "These bastards just don't know when to quit..."

"Tell me about it." said Jill. "First Umbrella, then Veltro, Tri-Cell, now Neo Umbrella… when will it all end?"

"When we erase them for good." replied Chris. He touches the comm-link in his ear. "Beta team, this is Alpha team. What's your position?"

The two raised their heads when they heard a gunshot nearby followed by the sound of a dropping body. They look to see the doors on the opposite end of the room open up to reveal three people.

The first was a lean-built man with light brown hair partially covering his face wearing black fingerless gloves, a blue button-down with the sleeves folded to mid forearm, and black pants with black steel-toe shoes. He wore a black survival/ammo vest and an ammo belt, holstering a pair of handguns and a magnum with a shotgun on his back.

The second was a woman with long brown hair tied in a midknot ponytail wearing black shoes, blue jeans, and a black midriff baring tank with a red sleeveless jacket over it. Around her waist was an ammo pouch with a submachinegun and slung over her back was a sniper rifle.

The third was a bearded mustached middle-aged man with receding brown hair dressed in brown camouflage pants, brown combat boots, black fingerless gloves, and a red jacket with an ammo harness. Held his assault machinegun in his hands while his handcannon was holstered on his front.

"Right here, brother." said the red-clad woman.

Chris could only smile. "Good work, Claire."

"I trust that the trek went smoothly?" asked Jill.

"A bit rough, but Leon and Barry here cleaned up nicely."

"Not really into dirty work, though." said Leon.

"Come on, son, you've been through worse I'm sure." said Barry.

"You may have a point."

Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Leon Kennedy, and Barry Burton were five individuals who shared one thing in common: they survived through the horrors of the Raccoon City outbreak and since then fought bioterrorism wherever they went no thanks to certain organizations delving in bio-weapons. They all went through much hardships to put an end to the evil corporations developing these weapons known as BOWs (Bio-Organic-Weapon) before they could destroy the world. It was then the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA, was formed to combat this threat, which Chris, Jill, and Barry were active members since they've experienced it firsthand. Leon was recruited by the government as a federal agent for the Division of Security Operations, or DSO, the government's anti-bioterrorism unit. Claire became a member of TerraSave, an organization made to help those affected by bioterrorism. The three powers came together to locate and wipe out all known traces of Umbrella and its affiliates to put an end to the virus-making terrorists once and for all. It took many months, but they've managed to neutralize all branches they came across.

"Our intel states this is the last American branch of Neo Umbrella. Once we clean up here, it will be the end for them." said Jill.

"Then let's give this place its demolition notice!" said Chris as he holds his gun up.

Just as they were about to move, an alarm sounded, locking the doors.

"That doesn't sound good..." said Claire.

The stasis pods lining the walls began to stir. After a few moments, something breaks out from one of the pods. It was a hulking green creature with reptilian traits and clawed hands. Everyone was quite familiar with this particular creature. Soon, more of them bust out of the pods, numbering twenty in all, surrounding the five.

"Hunters..." said Barry as he brings his machinegun to bear.

"Of all the miserable luck..." said Leon as he pulled out his two handguns.

"Brace yourselves!" said Chris.

That was when the Hunters let off inhuman roars before jumping at the group.

Chris shoots a Hunter through the head while it was in mid-jump, making it fall to the floor. Another tried to blindside him, but he quickly counters with a fist to the face, knocking it back. He follows up by taking out his knife and delivering a downward stab at the Hunter's face before it could get up. Chris then jumps back as another Hunter took a swipe at him, where he takes out his gun and shot it repeatedly in the face until it went down. Another hunter leaped at Chris who turned and pointed his shotgun at it, catching it by the mouth on the barrel before firing.

Jill side-steps a Hunter before shooting it point blank at the back of its head then knocked it down with a roundhouse kick. She jumps up to avoid another Hunter then drops down with a kick, pinning it before she finished it with several shots to the head. A Hunter jumps at Jill, but she grabs one of her submachineguns and unloaded on it before it could reach her, dropping dead at her feet. She then turned and shot a nearby Hunter, sending it plummeting over a railing.

Barry fired several rounds from his machinegun into a Hunter until it stopped moving. He staggers another with shots to the face then reared back and punched it full-force, knocking it down. When another Hunter came up to attack, Barry hits it back with the butt of his gun before unloading on it. The next Hunter to attack him gets downed instantly after getting shot in the head by Barry's handcannon he pulled out.

Leon dual-wields his guns, tagging a Hunter's limbs before focusing on the face, killing it. Running over, he shoots another in the face, staggering it where he followed up with a roundhouse kick, knocking it down, then quickly stabbed it in the head with his drawn knife. Leon turned in time to deflect a Hunter's claws with his knife before shooting it in the face with his magnum, blowing it away. Another Hunter rushed Leon, but he kicks it down onto its back and shot it in the head before it could get up.

Claire shoots a Hunter in the leg, making it drop to a knee before she kicked it away. She dodges another and counters with a knife slash followed by a few head shots. A third Hunter gets blown away once Claire grabbed and fired her submachinegun into it. She then switched out for her rifle and swung it like a club at a Hunter, knocking it down. Quickly flipping it around, she shot the rifle into its head. Killing it. The Hunter she took down earlier started to move, but Claire took out her handgun and shot it in the head, downing it.

The area was soon littered with the bloodied corpses of the Hunters, causing the alarms to die down.

"Everyone all right?" asked Chris as he and the others regrouped.

"For the most part." replied Claire.

"Always hated these things..." said Barry as he looked at their handiwork.

They were suddenly taken by surprise by a roar when a last Hunter they didn't notice appeared. It was slightly bigger than the rest and was a short distance away.

"LOOK OUT!" shouted Jill.

Before any of them could get their weapons up to bear, a loud crash from above sounded. They looked up to see someone had broken out through the glass window of the control center and was dropping down while holding something up. The Hunter was immediately floored when the stranger smashed what looked like a fire axe on its head, splitting it open. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a sledgehammer with two fire axes duct-taped on it.

The stranger stood up, revealing to be a middle-aged man with short dark brown spiky hair. He wore brown shoes, dark green pants, and a white button down shirt with a black leather jacket. Around his neck was a camera.

"Whew… the hell are these things? They're more annoying than zombies..."

"Hey, who are you?" asked Chris.

"And how did you even get in here?" added Jill.

"Oh, sorry. Name's Frank. Frank West, freelance photojournalist."

"That name sounds familiar..." said Claire. "Wait, did you cover that Willamette incident?"

"That's me. Hellish four days of my life." said Frank. "But I guess it's nothing compared to what you've all been through, huh?"

"More than you know..." said Leon.

"So why are you even here, Mr. West?" asked Barry.

"To get the next story, of course!" said Frank. "Got a hot tip that something was going down in this place. Had to do with zombies and the like. Even better is that the BSAA is involved, so it has to be major. Since I know my way around zombies, seemed up my alley, but I didn't expect these monsters."

"In any case, you really shouldn't be here. You're a civilian." said Chris.

"Hey, buddy! I've covered wars, you know!" said Frank. "In any case, mind if I could get an exclusive? People need to know the truth."

The survivors of Raccoon City look at each other before looking back at Frank.

"Maybe once we're done here." replied Chris. "Right now, we need to destroy this place."

"I'm holding you to that, buddy." said Frank. "What you all go by?"

"Chris Redfield."

"Jill Valentine."

"Leon Kennedy."

"Claire Redfield."

"Barry Burton."

"Okay then. Well, I'm gonna go take a few shots." Frank turns to take some photos of the carnage.

"Well he's certainly serious about his work." said Barry.

"And so are we." said Jill.

The five anti-bioterrorism fighters made their way toward the control room. While Frank was taking pictures, a black substance started forming on the floor. The freelance photographer turned his camera to see it through his lens.

"What the hell…?"

Curious, he started taking shots of the substance as it got bigger.

"Uh…. guys? There's something on the floor..."

Chris's party turned to see what Frank was going on about and saw the black goo.

"What… is that?" asked Claire.

"A new kind of BOW?" said Leon.

"I don't think so..." said Jill.

Another alarm sounded off.

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED."

"Wait, what!?" said Frank.

"Should've known a place like this would have a self-destruct mechanism!" said Leon.

"Everyone move!" shouted Chris.

They all went for the door, but it was unfortunately locked. The same was met with the other door.

"We're trapped!" said Claire.

"I refuse to die like this!" said Barry. He attempted to shoot the lock, but it had no effect.

"Now what do we do!?" said Jill.

As everyone scrambled to find a way out, Frank looked back to the black substance on the floor. When he looked at it, it looked like a sort of hole. Out of curiosity, Frank touched it with the defiler he had, and to his surprise, it passed through the floor. He reflexively pulled it back out, looking no different. He put it in and out a few times just to make sure, then called to the others.

"Hey guys! I think I found a way out!"

"Really?" said Jill. She and her group heard towards Frank.

"It seems to be some kind of hole!" said Frank as he demonstrated with his weapon.

"That's weird even for us." said Barry.

"Wait, are you actually suggesting we should just jump in there? We don't even know if it's safe or not!" said Chris.

"TWO MINUTES UNTIL EXPLOSION IMMINENT."

"You got a better idea?" asked Frank.

"He's got a point, Chris! I'll take my chances with the hole!" said Claire. She immediately jumped in, vanishing into the darkness.

"Claire!" said Chris, shocked to see what his sister did.

"I'm with her! Better than waiting to get blown up!" said Barry as he jumped in.

"Sigh… no choice..." said Leon as he jumped in after.

"Hurry, you two!" said Frank as he went into the portal substance.

"Come on, Chris!" said Jill as she ran and dove into the black substance.

"Oh, the hell with it!" said Chris. He jumped into the substance, disappearing into the darkness. Moments later, the research facility was engulfed in a fiery explosion.

To be continued…

Author's notes

The Resident Evil crew hook up with Frank West. Seems to make sense since they all had to handle zombies. Timewise this takes place after the events of Resident Evil 6 (don't consider 7 to be a real title anyway).

Next time, fighting in the streets!


	3. Trouble on the Streets (updated)

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 2: Trouble on the Streets

Metro City is a teeming metropolis of people and businesses. It's also a hub for much violent gangs, one of the most infamous being the Mad Gears. For years, the gang of thugs had control of Metro City and thus was riddled with crime and violence due to having the backing of a crime lord known as Belger. City officials were helpless to do anything about it due to Belger's influence and controlling the system through his underground connections.

Things changed when a new mayor, Mike Haggar, was elected and refused to be controlled. For this, Belger order for his daughter, Jessica, to be kidnapped and held for ransom to do what he says. What the crime lord didn't know was that Haggar wasn't the type to cow down. Aided by Cody, his daughter's then boyfriend and street fighter, and Guy, a Bushin Ryu practitioner, Haggar took matters into their own hands to put a stop to the Mad Gear Gang. After fighting a swath through the punk-infested city, ending in a showdown with Belger at his penthouse suite, the crime lord met his untimely fate after getting crashed out the window several stories up. Jessica was rescued and peace was restored to Metro City for a time being.

Some time later, Maki, sister of Guy's fiancee, Rena, notifies Haggar that her sister and father have gone missing, where they find out they've been kidnapped by a new Mad Gear Gang leader, Retu. With Guy and Cody unavailable, Haggar was joined by Maki, another Bushin Ryu user, and Carlos, a South American katana-wielder Haggar took in. Their quest had them traveling through Europe and Asia, taking down remnants of the Mad Gear factions until it lead them to Japan where they confront Retu in his pagoda hideout. After a grueling fight, Retu met the same fate as his predecessor and was knocked off the top floor of his pagoda where he fell to his death. Saving Rena and her father, the Mad Gear was finally defeated.

It was short-lived, however, as some months later, a new gang, the Skull Cross, emerged due to the power vacuum in wake of Mad Gear's fall. Lucia, a special crimes unit detective, informs Haggar about riots occurring in the streets. He's joined by Guy, who had returned from his training trip, and an unknown man, Dean, to clean up the streets the only way they know how. The four engaged in a final battle on a building rooftop with their leader, Black, who gets killed after getting slammed against a power box and getting electrocuted. Once again, the city was saved, and Dean leaves after finally avenging his family who had been killed by the Skull Cross Gang.

More time passed as things went on while other events happened. Guy continues his training in Bushin Ryu with Maki, Carlos aids in rebuilding the city, and Lucia continues serving the force. One of the biggest surprises was Cody being jailed for street violence. Even though Mad Gear was destroyed, remnants are still about somewhere. Ones coming to mind were that weird masked samurai, an insane stick-wielding soldier, an oversized thug accompanied by some pink-haired whore, and some freakish giant in a scrapyard.

Metro City's history of gang violence unfortunately didn't stop there.

Far into the future…

Metro City is one of many highly advanced futuristic places in the world. Unfortunately, crime was still very common and just like the city, the gangs have advanced, too. A group of super criminals genetically enhanced wrought terror on the city under the name of their leader, Scumocide. Fortunately, as criminals advanced, so did heroes. It was then the hero group known as Commando Team stepped up to face the super criminal leader. The team's fight took them through the city and eventually to Scumocide's planet, Callisto, where they put an end to the tyrant once and for all. The people cheered at being saved and the current mayor asked who their savior was.

"I am… Captain Commando!"

Since then, Captain Commando and his team worked to preserve the peace on Earth as well as throughout the galaxy.

Somewhere in the slums…

There was a scuffle going on in an isolated lot in the city. A group of masked guys in gray suits and claws were fighting against four individuals. Many of the thugs get beaten down, others got burned or electrocuted. On the darker side, some were sliced in half or even reduced to piles of bones. After some time, only four were left standing.

"That seems to be all of them, Captain." said one, who was a dark-blue clad ninja with yellow bracers and greaves. He held in his hand a ninjato sword which he clicks back into its scabbard behind him.

"It would appear so, Sho. Good work, team." said Captain Commando. He was a tall blonde man in blue and white power armor with highly advanced mech gauntlets on each hand, the Power Gloves. Over his eyes were red shades that also served as a scanning device.

"I don't like it. This fight seemed a bit odd." said another figure. He was tall and imposing, at first looked like a big green robot with large arms. Upon closer inspection, it was actually just a man-shaped vehicle, and at where the head should be was its pilot, a baby.

"What do you mean, Hoover?" asked Captain Commando.

"Those Zs looked like they were possessed or something. What's driving them isn't coorelating to any energy sources we've encountered before."

The fourth figure silently nodded as he looked at the defeated thugs. Unlike the others, he's not a human, but a mummy-like alien being. His body was wrapped in light purple bandages and wore blue hi-top sneakers, orange torn pants, and an orange backwards cap. In each hand he held a wicked-looking knife.

"You feel it, too, Jennety?" asked Sho.

Jennety just turns and points to a pile of tires. Captain looks to it and scanned it with his Captain Goggles.

"Hmm? There's something under there..." said Captain.

Hoover moves his mech and knocks aside the tires. Once cleared, he saw nothing. However, he noticed the ground felt different when he stepped on it.

"This feels hollow..." said Hoover.

"Stand aside." said Sho as he went past Hoover.

The others stood back as Sho whipped out his sword, the Lightning Light, and slashed at the ground a few times in a single second before re-sheathing it. The ground fell apart, revealing to be a metal trap door leading to a downward staircase.

"Well that calls for checking out." said Captain. Taking the lead, he and the Commando Team descend the stairs.

Where it lead was some underground facility, one of a few that provided power to the city. This one, however, seems to have been abandoned for some time due to neglect. Going further, the team come across what looked like a large transport tunnel.

"Was this supposed to be a supply rail?" asked Hoover.

"It's certainly seen better days." said Sho.

Jennety looks up and turns towards another tunnel.

"What is it, Jennety?" asked Hoover.

Jennety says nothing as he went down the tunnel, causing the others to follow. As they went further, they noticed that there was a bit of power being supplied somehow despite being derelict.

"Power? This can't be right..." said Captain.

As the Commando Team went on further, they could make out the sounds of battle.

"What's going on?" asked Sho.

"Was that what you heard, Jennety?" asked Captain.

Jennety nodded as they all ran towards the source. When they arrive, they are treated to an interesting sight.

A bunch of gun-armed robots and a group of fat-looking robots were attacking two people. One was a man with brown hair with the front bangs dyed white and wearing a blue battlesuit not unlike Captain Commando. What stood out was his left eye had a cybernetic eye fitted over it. The other was a shapely woman with long red hair tied up in a thick braid that reached her ankles and clad in a green corset leotard with a really short frilled skirt which may as well be a belt due to how short it was. The striking thing about her was that she had feline features, her body was covered in yellow fur, had cat-like ears, and her hands and bare feet had cat claws. She was also accompanied by a squirrel-like fox.

The man punched through a robot with an electric-charged fist before kicking away another. "Sheesh, these things don't know when to give up!" He charges up and fires a beam from his fist that plowed through more robots.

The woman slashed through a robot with her claws then knocked another down with a flying kick. "They're robots, Cyber Blue. I don't think they're programmed to give up!" She pulls out a green whip and lashes repeatedly at two robots until they were torn down.

"Real funny, Yellow Iris."

Cyber Blue and Yellow Iris are fighting bounty hunters who specialize in finding the worst criminals and taking them down. They and their comrades initially were supposed to take down the Delete Gang, but wound up getting involved in an even bigger conspiracy when they came across the Shiva System, a program capable of controlling all the computerized systems in the world. After fighting through the Delete Gang (as well as an annoying mad scientist nemesis), they reclaimed the system disc from the gang's leader, Pluto, but the program became a sentient being who threatened the planet. Cyber Blue, Yellow Iris, and their companions, Captain Silver, Pink Ostrich, and Alien Green had to fight the out of control program, just managing to defeat it on top of a tower ruin. Even though the bounty hunters took down such a haul, they were ready to take on the next target. Since the incident, they continued to take on more bounty jobs from their employer, Harry.

There were multiple jobs going on, so they had to split up to cover them. Captain Silver, Pink Ostrich, and Alien Green went to take on a bounty somewhere, which lead to Cyber Blue and Yellow Iris in their current situation. The two were following a lead on a big-timme criminal, then suddenly found themselves swarmed by Gunbots and ROBs.

The two continued to whittle down the robots until only a few remained. They braced themselves for the last wave, but then the robots got destroyed from behind, much to the two's confusion. It was then Cyber Blue and Yellow Iris came face to face with the Commando Team.

"You looked like you could've used a hand." said Captain Commando.

"Oh, thanks for the assist, sir." said Yellow Iris.

"Hey, aren't you the Commando Team?" asked Cyber Blue.

"Yes, that's right." replied Captain. "And you must be those bounty hunters I've heard so much about."

"You know of us?" asked Yellow Iris.

"Yeah. That Shiva System was some pretty nasty business." said Hoover.

Formal brief introductions were made as they explained what was going on. The Commando Team were only taking out remnants of the super criminals until they came across this underground facility while Cyber Blue and Yellow Iris were following a lead on an unknown dangerous criminal bounty.

"So you're down here to collect a bounty, huh?" said Sho.

"What other reason is there for us to hang out in this place?" said Cyber Blue.

"That was when we got accosted by those Gunbots and ROBs until you guys came along." said Yellow Iris. Her fox companion, Finn, jumps up and sits on her shoulder.

"All it means is that we're getting closer to our target." said Cyber Blue.

Captain couldn't deny the logic. "That would explain why there seems to be some power supplied down here. In any case, perhaps we could cooperate with each other."

"Fine, but let me tell you right now, the bounty's ours." said Cyber Blue.

"That's perfectly fine. We do what we do to ensure peace, not for rewards." said Captain.

The quartet and duo continue on through the transport tunnel where they come across a large room. It appeared to be a power generator room as in the center was some device before a pillar of light that illuminated the area.

"What is this place?" said Yellow Iris.

Sho's eyes narrowed as he grabbed at his sword. "Everyone, be on guard. We're not alone here..."

Suddenly, a large shadow darted about across the floor, taking the group by surprise. The shadow stopped before the energy generator and emerged, slowly taking shape.

"What… the hell is that?" said Cyber Blue.

Everyone got into defensive stances as the shadow grew and formed. It took the form of what looked like an old man in a big hooded cloak, almost like a solid ghost. His eyes glowed with an eerie purple light.

"This the criminal you were speaking of?" asked Captain.

"Looks like it." replied Cyber Blue.

The figure lifted one of his hands where electrical energies started to gather.

"Look out!" shouted Hoover.

The Commando Team and Bounty Hunters quickly scattered as the figure shot the lightning ball where they stood. He wasn't done as he fired more lighting from his hands. The cloaked figure then flies around at a fast rate as he tried to scorch his enemies. He then tries a different tactic where he fires a lightning bolt on the ground, which produced a pack of wolves that rushed at them.

"What the!?" said Captain as he stops a wolf from chomping on him.

Sho quickly sliced through some wolves with his ninjato and Jennety melted more to the bone with his knives. Hoover punched a wolf back while slamming another into the floor. Yellow Iris slashed with her claws at two wolves trying to get her with a pincer attack and Cyber Blue grabbed and threw a wolf into others. The defeated canines dissolved into dust upon being killed.

The cloaked being then sends another lightning bolt into the floor, and to everyone's surprise, it made appear a swarm of flying… piranhas?

"Alright, this is just getting ridiculous!" said Cyber Blue. He and Captain Commando get in front of the others. "GIGA CRUSH!"

"CAPTAIN CORRIDOR!"

Cyber Blue lets off a large electric discharge that lashed out with lightning bolts while Captain Commando punched the ground that engulfed him in a pillar of lightning. The two electric-based attacks quickly made short work of the flying killer fish, burning them to crisps.

Captain quickly runs and jumps up at the cloaked figure, rearing a fist back.

"CAPTAIN FIRE!"

He punches forward, letting off a stream of flame from his Power Glove. The cloaked being countered with another lightning blast, canceling out the attack. He then make a ring of energy orbs appear around him, which the fired outward. Everyone had to duck for cover using the architecture.

"HEAT KICK!"

"TRIANGLE SHOT!"

Cyber Blue and Yellow Iris jump at the cloaked being with a flying kick and flying slash respectively while engulfed in multi-colored flame. The cloaked being gets knocked back, then gets slashed by Sho, followed by a spinning knife attack from Jennety. Angered, the cloaked being teleports to a higher distance and fired off two lightning bolts towards the walls, which caused a pair of pteranodons to appear.

"He can summon dinosaurs, too!?" said Hoover in shock.

"Well he's certainly making us work for our pay." said Cyber Blue.

The two flying dinosaurs fly straight at the group. A flash of light followed by a slashing sound was heard as the pteranodons were suddenly sliced in two, where their remains dissolved into dust. Everyone was shocked by this, the cloaked being even moreso. His eyes then widened in pain as several slash marks criss-crossed his body, where he exploded into light.

"Such technique..." said Sho.

"Huh? Who?" said Yellow Iris.

Everyone stopped to see someone land before them. It was a lean-muscled man with spiky brown hair and clad in a purple sleeveless gi and pants set with bandaged bracers. Around his neck was a red muffler and a red mask wrapped around the lower half of his face. In his hand was a long sword with the blade shaped like an elongated triangle and the hilt fashioned like a tonfa.

"Impostor… Grandmaster Meio you are not." said the ninja-like man.

"Hey, who are you?" asked Cyber Blue.

"Wait… Strider Hiryu?" said Captain Commando.

The one called Hiryu turned and nodded to the leader of the Commando Team. "Captain."

"You know this guy?" asked Cyber Blue.

"Yes. My team and I are one of the few who know of the existence of the Striders." said Captain. "And Hiryu here is one of their best agents. He's carried out a few successful missions."

"I merely do my duty." said Hiryu simply.

"Wait, so this guy we were just fighting was the one called Grandmaster Meio?" asked Hoover in shock.

"No. That was just a copy." replied Hiryu. "The real Meio was more formidable than this. I came here on a rumor that Meio was somehow still alive, but it looks like it was just that, a rumor."

"Wow, this must have been a serious super criminal!" said Yellow Iris. "To tell the truth Cyber Blue and I were just following this guy's trail, but we had no idea who this guy really was."

"Does this mean your mission is over, Strider?" asked Sho.

"I would like to think so, but something tells me it isn't..." replied Hiryu.

"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Captain.

Suddenly, the place began to shake as the ceiling started to crumble.

"Oh you got to be kidding!" said Cyber Blue.

"Everyone move!" ordered Captain.

"This way!" said Hiryu as he lead the group out to where he came from.

As quickly as they could, the group managed to get topside before the underground facility collapsed on itself.

"Whew… that was close..." said Hoover.

Finn suddenly started to chitter frantically.

"Finn? What's wrong?" asked Yellow Iris.

Finn jumps off her shoulder and ran towards a small cliff overlooking the city. When everyone else followed and got there, they were shocked to see the city in chaos. Several buildings and streets were on fire as the sounds of screaming were heard before cutting off suddenly.

"What's going on!?" said Sho.

"Hurry!" said Captain as he and the others ran towards the city.

Once they got there, they were treated to the sight of the city in disarray. Some of the buildings were on fire due to patrol helicopters having crashed and exploded against them, vehicles were crashed into each other or into buildings, some having caught fire, but what was more alarming were the citizens. People were screaming as they began disintegrating into dust in the wind right before their eyes.

"What… is this…?" said Hoover in shock.

"Oh God..." said Captain Commando.

Present day, a city street somewhere…

Night falls upon the deserted streets in the late hours. It was also a time for things that go bump in the night to emerge. A low growling was heard as a black demon with glowing purple eyes rose up. It's joined by a few more of its brethren. A large number of the demonic creatures appeared as they faced down against a trio of armed people, one man and two women.

The man had white hair and wearing a black shirt with dark red pants, boots, and black fingerless gloves. He wore a red leather trench coat with a gun holster holding two guns, and a demonic broadsword as tall as he is on his back.

The first woman had long blonde hair and dressed primarily in black consisting of a midriff-baring corset top, choker, leather bracers, form-fitting pants that showed off her curves, and stiletto boots. On her back was a broadsword crackling with purple lightning and a holster with two guns.

The second woman had short wavy black hair wearing white short shorts and a white blazer that didn't close all the way, baring much cleavage. She wore brown boots, an ammo belt around her waist, red gloves, and a holster belt around her shoulders. On her back was a large missile launcher.

"Hmmm… I thought this was supposed to be a party. I'm kind of disappointed, Dante." said the blonde.

"You expect too much from him, Trish." said the brunette.

"You know I can hear you, Lady." said Dante. He takes out his sword, the Devil Sword Dante, and holds it forward. "Well girls, time to go to work!"

Dante, Trish, and Lady run towards the group of demons.

These three individuals are in a special kind of business: devil hunting. They take on the odd jobs that seem to be otherworldly for a living. Considering Dante is a half-human half-demon, finding trouble is to be expected, especially when he's the son of Sparda. To deal with the constant devil problem, Dante opened his shop, Devil May Cry. Ironic as his shop is for devil hunting business, his partners are a devil, Trish, and a human, Lady.

Dante got involved with the Temen-ni-gru Tower incident where he had his first few run-ins with Lady while pursuing his twin brother, Vergil, who plotted to attain Sparda's power by using the tower to connect the human and demon worlds. Then it turned out Arkham, Lady's father, had planned the whole thing to take power for himself, in which the brothers temporarily cooperated to take him down. Once he was taken out, they resumed their battle, ending with Vergil getting tossed into the Demon World.

After that, Dante gets his first encounter with Trish, who informs him about Mallet Island where the demonic emperor, Mundus, would return. Fighting off the denizens of the castle, he confronts Mundus and learns of Trish's status as a devil subordinate, but events made Trish question her loyalties which lead her to defect to Dante's side. Since then, the two became partners in the business.

Then the three catch wind about Fortuna, a city who supposedly worships Sparda as a god, but was really nothing more than a cult following made by the high priest, Sanctus, who plotted to become a demon god. With help from a local guy, Nero, they managed to thwart the insane religious cult leader.

The latest incident would have Dante reunited with Nero and his new partner, Nico. The demon tree, Qliphoth, said to have existed before the creation of the Underworld which could bear a single fruit every thousand years that will grant the one who eats it divine power has appeared. From it, a new Devil King was born in the form of the demon Urizen, who turned out to be the demon half of Vergil. More surprising, Dante's client for this job, V, was Vergil's human side, and once V and Urizen united, they fused to form Vergil again, who wished to settle things with Dante once and for all. Nero eventually stopped the two brothers from killing each other once he learned his connection to the two as he wanted to end their bloody sibling rivalry. After a grueling battle with Nero, Vergil gracefully accepts his loss and goes to the Underworld to cut down Qliphoth with Dante following, knowing full well doing so they'll be sealed in the Underworld. Since then, Dante and Vergil continued to fight and even keep score of their wins and losses once they've destroyed the demonic tree, though they'd kill off any demons who interrupt them in annoyance.

It was unknown how long they've been trapped down there, but somehow, through some sheer chance, they wound up getting thrust back into the Human World. They just came across some weird substance that sucked them through. Needless to say, Trish and Lady were surprised to have been reunited with the missing Devil Hunter and were happy about it, though they'd never admit that out loud. Vergil had gone off to who knows where, but Dante figured it would only be a matter of time before they meet again.

Back home, Dante, Trish, and Lady continued to take on jobs for demon extermination. This group they now faced was just the latest of such jobs.

Dante rushed past some demon after slashing them through with his sword, followed by spinning around to slash up more in front of him. Jumping up, Dante stabs downward onto a demon, impaling and knocking it down while holding himself up on it with a handstand. With his free hand, Dante, takes out his Ivory gun and scores some headshots on the surrounding demons before flipping down on his feet and pulling his sword back out. Shouldering his sword, Dante pulls out his Ebony gun and started firing a barrage of bullets into a demon group then jumps and flips over another while shooting downward in his Rainstorm maneuver. Without missing a beat, Dante holsters his guns in midair and brings out his Devil Sword Dante to slash downward with his Helm Breaker, slicing a demon in two.

Trish holds the Alastor Sword (her replacement for the Sparda Sword which was absorbed into Dante) and easily cleaves right through a line of demons. With her free hand, she fires a Low Voltage shot at a demon's face, charring it, then throws the Alastor Sword, which boomerangs around slicing through any demons unfortunate enough to be in the way. Whipping out her guns, Luce and Umbra, Trish fires at the demons surrounding her in different directions, then sidesteps a demon trying to blind-side her where she brings up her leg and brings it down on the demon with an axe kick before shooting it in the head. Trish then raises her hand where she catches the Alastor on its return trip then impales three more demons with it.

Lady dual wields an automatic pistol and a submachinegun, riddling demons with bullets. She takes out a grenade and throws it towards a demon crowd then quickly shoots it dead on to detonate it right in the center of them. Rolling forward to dodge a swipe, Lady holsters her guns in favor of the Kalina Ann II launcher, slashing at some demons with its bayonet blade then stabs it downward to fire its Hysteric micro missiles, blowing up the demons before her. Pulling out the Kalina Ann II, she stabs a demon with the bayonet then fires a missile from the main barrel, sending it flying and plowing into more demons before it exploded.

After another minute of carnage, the demons were all messily scattered about. Dante, Trish, and Lady simply holstered their weapons as they observed their handiwork.

"I guess that was kind of stylish." said Dante.

"Please, that wasn't even enough for a warm-up." said Trish.

"Well I'm sorry you feel that way." said Lady.

"Hopefully something more exciting will happen." said Dante.

As if on cue, a black substance appeared on the alley wall, forming a portal, taking the three by surprise.

"Does that count?" asked Lady.

"Well that's something you don't see everyday." said Trish.

"That looks familiar… Hey, you two hear that?" asked Dante.

They could hear telltale signs of screaming which were getting louder. Suddenly, a group of six people were ejected out of the portal substance, crashing unceremoniously in a heap before it vanished. Dante could only raise his eyebrow in response.

"Ahh! My back!" said Barry.

"Quit complaining, Barry. It means you're alive." said Jill.

"Just our luck..." said Leon.

"That was a reckless thing to do, Claire." said Chris.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it? We didn't get blown up." said Claire.

"Ugh… the things I do for a scoop..." said Frank.

"Anyway, we need to find out where we are." said Chris.

Just as they were getting themselves untangled from each other, Chris noticed the three people before him. The others followed suit as they saw another heavily armed group.

"Hey, just who are you guys and where the hell did you come from?" asked Dante.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Just trying to get some steam here.

Basing the DMC crew's look on their DMC4 incarnations even though this takes place after 5. Hey, I like their looks in that one better, okay?

Doom King of Latveria: Ah, so you caught that, eh?

Venom rules all: Thanks. Same to you!

Please leave a review and tell me what you all think!


	4. Broken Reunions Part 1

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 3: Broken Reunions Part 1

Present day, Kanzaki Estate…

Ryu and Sakura were guided by the Kanzuki Family steward, Shibazaki. Ryu comes across the familiar meeting area from last time, the large open air dining hall separated by the wooden walkways of a Japanese home architecture near the lavish garden and koi ponds.

Standing before them with her back turned was a blonde girl in red with her hair done up in elaborate Victorian ringlet curls held with a blue ribbon.

"Karin-sama, the last of your guests have arrived." said Shibazaki.

Karin turned around at her steward's voice. Her red outfit consisted of a long-sleeved blazer with frilled cuffs, a short frilled skirt, and low-heel ankle boots with black leggings. She had a white frilled cleft around her neck and black fingerless gloves with brown handguards.

"Ah, Ryu, Sakura, glad you're able to join us. Please come inside."

Karin leads Ryu and Sakura into the dining hall where they see a few familiar faces.

There was a man with past shoulder length blonde hair wearing a black muscle form-fitting shirt with a red karate gi held by a black belt with the top hanging behind him, black fingerless gloves, and black foot pads. He sat at a table with a blonde woman and a blonde boy. The woman had long wavy blonde hair and wearing a short white shirt with jean shorts and sandals. The boy had short hair wearing a red t-shirt with a flame print on it with blue jeans and black sneakers. Sitting on the other side of the man were a teen boy and a voluptuous young woman. The teen was dark skinned with short black hair done in dreadlocks with the sides shaved. He wore a yellow hoodie and pants with red sneakers. The woman was lightly tanned with long black hair going down her right side while the left was done in cornrows. She wore brown sandals with short blue cutoff jean shorts showing off the straps of her black thong and a short green shirt stopping just at the lower part of her breasts.

"It was nice of Miss Karin to pay for our trip, Honey."

"Well I couldn't leave you and Mel behind, Eliza. You can think of it as another vacation."

"Uh… I'm honored you invited us along, Master Ken."

"Don't mention it, Sean. Just don't forget your training."

"Ha! My scrawny brother will need all the help he can get!"

"Laura… quit embarrassing me..."

Sitting at the table near them were a man, a woman, and a teen girl. The man wore dark blue pants and combat boots with a tie on a white button down shirt that had the sleeves folded to the shoulders, showing off his arm muscles. Was apparently a military man due to the blue stripes on the shirt showing the rank of Major as well as a tattoo of the American flag on each shoulder. The striking thing about him is that his blonde hair was in a tall flattop style. The woman also had long wavy blonde hair and wore a short orange tank with black slacks and low heel pumps. The Teen girl had blonde hair done up in a side ponytail and wore a pink t-shirt with blue jean shorts and white sneakers.

"I'm glad you brought Amy and me along, Guile."

"Don't mention it, Julia. Guess this could count as a family vacation since Eliza and her family are here, too. Plus, it's your first time in Japan."

"Are all your missions like this, Dad?"

"Sometimes."

At the next table sat two girls and a big man who was greedily eating from a tray of roast chicken. The first girl wore a beige ninja dogi consisting of a sleeveless top, baggy pants with holes that exposed her hips, and a bandanna over her head. She had bandaged around her wrist with brown handguards and bandages around her shins and ankles. Around her neck was what looked like a black muffler that partially covered her chin. Her dark brown hair was held in a long topknot separated in two long angular strands and her front bangs were done in similar style. The second girl had dark skin and short white hair, wearing red slacks, black shoes, and a white sleeveless top. Around her wrists were a number of multi-colored bangles. The man was fat and dark-skinned with a blonde mowhawk wearing dark combat boots, torn pants, and an open vest showing off his beer belly. He also had black fingerless gloves with chains wrapped around his forearms.

"Hey Birdie, you keep eating like that, and you'll wind up choking on bones."

"A bodyguard's gotta keep his strength up! Er… you two want any?"

"Er… no thanks, I'm good."

"Go right ahead!"

"Well, more for me!"

"He's got quite an appetite, doesn't he, Ibuki?"

"Doesn't even begin to describe it, Elena..."

At another table sat a muscled man and two women. The man had long blonde hair with a wide red bandanna around his head. He was shirtless with brown combat boots, a green set of overalls with the front hanging down over his waist, and green fingerless gloves. The first woman wore a blue short-sleeved kung fu dress with poofed shoulders and white laced up boots over dark brown stockings. Her brown hair was done up in two hair buns covered in white cloths and wore spiked bracelets on her wrists. The second woman had long blonde hair tied into two thick braids and wore a tight green thong leotard with black combat boots. She also had red fingerless gloves with bracers covering her forearms and a red beret on her head.

"So once again, MI6 and Interpol are working together."

"Seems to be a common thing now, Chun Li, with all the crazy world-taking organizations out there."

"Still don't know why we're all here."

"Relax, Alex. We will, soon."

"Fine, Miss White."

"Cammy is fine."

Sitting on the floor nearby was a muscled man wearing nothing but brown cut-off shorts and grey anklets. Thing is he had long wild orange hair and green skin. He was currently eating from a pile of fruit. Kneeling nearby him eating from the same fruit pile was a man with brown hair tied in a ponytail dressed in a black shirt with a pink karate gi and brown fingerless gloves.

"Hey Jimmy! Quit hogging all the good stuff!"

"Ha! Dan is too slow!"

Off to the side were a blonde girl with her hair done up in two sidetails and a big mustache-bearded musclebound man with a short mohawk, both taking muscle poses. The man wore only red briefs, boots, and gold bracers. The girl wore a blue frilled thong leotard with white boots and a blue eye mask.

"Again, Mika! Muscle power!"

"Yes, Master Zangief! You're so cool!"

The next table sat a woman with long purple zig-zagging hair in a purple off-shoulder dress over a dark purple halter top and leggings with red high heels. Around her arms and shoulders was a yellow silk scarf. Behind her was a thin man floating in midair while sitting in a lotus position. He wore only a pair of yellow shorts held up by a rope with a few gold wristbands and anklebands, a white turban on his head, and a metal ring around his neck adorned with three small skulls. His body had several red markings.

"I sense something's not right..."

"You feel it, too, Rose?"

"Indeed, Dhalsim. I just pray I'm wrong."

Leaning against the wall nearby was a tall one-eyed bald man with his arms folded. He wore bandages around his hands and feet, long blue torn shorts tied by a white and orange belt, and a short tattered green cloak that partially covers the scar on his chest.

"Ryu! Sakura! So you finally made it!"

Everyone else stopped to see the latecomers arrive.

"Ken." said Ryu as he looked at his old friend and rival. He then nods in greeting to Ken's wife and son.

"It's been a while." said Guile.

"You never stop fighting, do you?" said Chun Li.

"It is the path I walk." Ryu then looks to the tall bald man. "Sagat."

"Ryu."

"I'm kinda surprised he's here, too, Ryu-Sensei..." said Sakura.

"People change, Sakura." said Ryu.

More greetings were made, then later Ken and Guile sent their families away to the guest quarters once Karin was about to start the meeting.

"Alright, now that we're all here, we can get started." announced Karin, getting everyone's attention. "As you all may have guessed, this isn't a social call. We may have another crisis on our hands."

"What is it this time?" asked Sakura.

"It may be hard to believe, but it may be Shadaloo."

"What? But that's impossible!" said Rainbow Mika. "We smashed up that place last time!"

"Yes, but surveillance state otherwise."

"Interpol managed to find leads suggesting that the island where Shadaloo's last base of operations was during the Black Moons incident is becoming active." said Chun Li.

"We've sent out surveillance drones to check the area out, but we had lost contact with them. Most likely they were shot down." added Guile.

"Hold on. How do we even know it's Shadaloo? For all we know, it could be another organization like S.I.N." said Ken.

"That is a reasonable conclusion, too, Mr. Masters, but right now we don't have much to go on." said Karin.

"Then we just go to place and smash like last time!" said Zangief.

"Easier said than done, Mr. Zangief." Karin turned to Guile. "Major, do you have any drone footage of the island that is still intact?"

"Yes." Guile opened up the laptop connected to the HD monitor in the dining hall wall. Typing in some commands, he links up a USB drive, playing a video on the big monitor. It showed a grainy camera video of the island observing some of the camera drones trying to approach. Before they could get any closer, they all each get shot down by beams of light. "This was taken about two weeks ago."

"We still have a few drones on standby near the island for observation." said Chun Li.

"Blimey! What in the 'ell was that?" asked Birdie.

"Island is cursed!" said Blanka.

"We have absolutely no idea what that is." said Cammy. "It could possibly be an upgraded Psycho Drive."

"Could it be… Bison?" asked Ibuki.

Everyone else was shocked at that.

"No, it isn't."

All eyes turned to Rose.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Alex.

"As much as I hate to admit it, I share a connection to Bison thanks to my Soul Power. I do not feel him at all here. My cards also shown me nothing."

"Wait, you came to that idea just because your fortune telling mumbo jumbo said so? How dumb is that?" asked Dan, earning him a whack on the head by Sakura.

"Aside from that, didn't you guys say you had some of those camera drone things nearby a safe distance so they wouldn't be shot down? What do those show?" asked Laura.

"That's the problem. Something had interfered with the drones' optics, causing the picture to be disrupted." replied Guile. "Currently, MI6 is trying to repair the latest footage we sent them. They should be finished soon."

An incoming call sounded on the laptop.

"It's from Ginzu!" said Cammy as she accepted the call. "This is Cammy. Were you able to fix the video feed, Ginzu?"

"Y-yeah, Cammy, but you're not gonna believe what is on it!" said Ginzu.

"Upload it."

"Okay, but prepare yourselves. If the timestamp is right, this was taken this morning..."

Ginzu complies and the monitor plays another scene. What everyone saw shocked them.

The video of two weeks ago showed the ruins of the Shadaloo island base. The latest video showed the island completely engulfed in some strange dark blob-like substance, which seemed to pulsate as if it were alive.

"What the hell?" said Alex.

"What is that!?" said Sean.

"I… did not forsee this..." said Rose.

The video continues to show the giant blob-like thing grow out tentacle-like appendages that pointed upwards before firing several beams into the sky, followed by flashes of light. The feed immediately cut off there.

"It's like a beast of legend." said Dhalsim.

"Ginzu! What was that!?" asked Cammy.

"I was hoping you could tell me!" said Ginzu. "I've seen strange things on our missions, but nothing like this! I'm going to try-"

"Ginzu? I didn't catch that. Do you copy? Ginzu?"

The connection was cut off.

"Hey! What happened? Re-establish connection!" said Guile.

Cammy tries to contact Ginzu again, but all her attempts failed. "No good! I can't reach him!"

Ryu turned his head towards something. "Hey, do any of you hear that?"

Hearing Ryu, everyone in the room looked at him then fell silent as they trained their ears to what the Shotoken user was referring to.

"What? I don't hear anything." said Dan.

"I hear something..." said Sagat.

"I hear it, too..." said Ken.

"I can as well..." said Elena.

Dan felt his pride take a hit. Ibuki's head snapped up and quickly ran out of the room towards the front gates.

"Daddy!"

"Dad!"

"Guile!"

"Ken!"

Guile and Ken turned to see their respective families come out looking frantic.

"Julia? Amy? What's wrong?" asked Guile.

"We just saw on TV a special new bulletin and-" started Eliza, but was suddenly cut off by a shout.

"EVERYONE! GET OUT HERE QUICK!"

The rest still in the dining hall were brought to attention by Ibuki's shout and quickly ran to where she was at. When they got there, they were treated to a horrible sight.

The streets before them were littered with empty cars, some crashed into others or obstructions, causing some car alarms to blare. Some people were running about in a panic. This in itself was already alarming, but that was only the beginning.

"Hey! What's going on!?" said Laura.

"Look!" said Blanka.

To the Street Fighters' astonished eyes, all the panicked people started to dissolve into dust in the wind right before them.

"What's… happening…?" said Alex.

"Is this some supernatural phenomena?" said Sagat.

"This… this was what happened on that news report..." said Julia.

"What?" said Ken to his sister-in-law.

"K-Karin-sama..."

Karin turned to look at her steward. "Shibazaki?"

Shibazaki said nothing as he held up his hand, which started to dissolve into dust.

"Shibazaki!"

Everyone's attention was drawn towards Karin as they witnessed Shibazaki slowly dissolving to dust until he just vanished.

Suddenly, Dan sank to his knees while holding his stomach. "Hey… I don't feel so good..."

They all turned to Dan.

"Dan?" said Sakura.

Dan groaned and he, too, started to dissolve to nothing.

"D… Dan?" said Blanka as he looked at the spot where his friend once was.

"Oog… bloody 'ell… what's happenin' to me…?" Eyes turned to Birdie, who fell on his butt as the top of his mohawk started to dissolve. "Aw no… not my hair..." He was cut off as he dissolved completely.

"No… this cannot be..." said Rose after witnessing the sight.

"Dad… I feel sick..."

"Daddy… help..."

Ken and Guile's blood ran cold when they heard their children's voices. Looking over to them and their wives, they became horrified.

"Ken… what's… what's happening to us…?" said Eliza.

"Guile… I..." said Julia.

"No… no no no!" said Ken as he rushed over to his family. "Eliza! Mel!"

"Julia! Amy! Stay with me now!" said Guile as he went to his own family.

"Sean! No!" Ken turned to Laura, who was cradling her brother in her arms.

"Laura… Master Ken..." said Sean.

"No… Sean, too?" said Ken.

"How… how is this… happening to me…?" said Zangief as he looked at his dissolving hands.

"Master Zangief! No! Not you, too!" said Rainbow Mika, horrified to see her idol dissolve. "This can't happen to you! You've got muscle power, remember!? Anything is possible with muscle!"

Eliza, Julia, Mel, Amy, Sean, and Zangief soon followed and dissolved to nothing.

"Karin! What is going-" Sakura started before she cut herself off after seeing her rival also beginning to dissolve. "Karin!"

Karin could only look at her dissolving hand before turning to look at Sakura. "Sakura…?" Before she could dissolve completely, Karin quickly pulled something out of her coat with her solid hand and threw it to Sakura. Sakura reflexively caught the object before witnessing her rival dissolving away.

"Ryu... everyone..."

The remaining people looked over to Rose.

"Rose?" said Ryu.

"The source is at that island… this is far bigger than just Shadaloo… there is an even greater evil upon us… you must go to the source and neutralize it, but you can't do this alone..." said Rose. "You must find allies..."

Soon, Rose started to slowly disintegrate.

"No! Rose!" said Ryu.

"You that remain… are our last hope..." Rose finally dissolved into the wind, leaving behind her tarot card deck that scattered across the floor. All of them were face down except for five cards, which represented the Sun, the Moon, the World, the Star, and the Devil.

The ones who remained, Ryu, Ken, Guile, Chun Li, Cammy, Sakura, Blanka, Dhalsim, Alex, Sagat, Ibuki, Elena, Laura, and Rainbow Mika could only stand in shock at what happened.

"This… this can't be real..." said Elena.

Sakura then looked at her closed fist and opened it to see what Karin tossed to her. It turned out to be a key with a tag.

Somewhere in Japan…

At a large stadium on a school campus, a multi-sporting event was being held, and what better place for it than one Gorin High School, most famous for its athletic programs. All other high schools in the prefecture were invited to compete for pride and glory as well as to solidify good relations with each other.

Within the stadium, people cheered for their teams during the track and field events.

"GO TAIYO!" shouted a girl in the crowd with short brown hair tapering off to the sides. She was dressed in a Taiyo High uniform consisting of a light blue vest over a short-sleeved white button down shirt, a light blue skirt, and a pink ribbon tie around her neck. On her head was white headband, and she wore orange belted wristbands and yellow sneakers.

"SHOW 'EM WHO RULES!" shouted a boy with spiky black hair next to the girl. He also wore a Taiyo High uniform consisting of a blue long-sleeved jacket with light blue bandages wrapped around the upper arms over a chainmail vest and blue pants with light blue bandages wrapped around the left leg. He had on white sneakers with red stripes and red fingerless gloves.

"Isn't this exciting, Batsu?" asked the girl.

"Sure is, Hinata. This is how a sporting event should be like!" said Batsu.

"I know you would've wanted to compete."

"If I did, it would be no contest! However, these are junior events, and we're seniors, now."

"Yeah, too bad!" said Hinata. She suddenly gets a sad look. "I only wish Kyosuke could be here..."

Batsu also looked down at hearing that name. Batsu Ichimonji was a transfer student who came to Taiyo High to find his missing mother where he and his friends, Hinata Wakaba, and Kyosuke Kagami, got involved in a series of incidents where the local high schools got attacked. In the beginning, the high schools pointed the finger at each other, but was later revealed the elite private school, Justice High, was the culprit. It was already unnerving that Batsu's mother was taken by the principal, Raizo, of that school, but never had he imagined that same man was also his father. Students from the other schools banded together to take down Justice High for what it has done, but it turned out the true mastermind behind everything was the school's student body president, Hyo Imawano, who also happened to be Kyosuke's brother. After defeating Hyo and rescuing Batsu's mother, peace returned to the schools and Hyo apparently turned a new leaf.

The peace didn't last as the schools were once again being attacked. Batsu, Hinata, and Kyosuke immediately went to investigate the new attacks where they learn of the Darkside Student Council, lead by Kurow Kirishima. Kurow was a sadistic student with brainwashing powers who had designs to take over Japan and the world. His dreams of grandeur cost him dearly as he did not count on the interference of Hyo, who wound up getting possessed by the spirit of his father, becoming Demon Hyo. Struggling to retain himself, Hyo begged Kyosuke to put an end to him as he cannot fight off their father's control for very long and if he were to run rampant, it would spell doom. With a heavy heart, Kyosuke was forced to take down Hyo, who then died in his arms from his injuries. After the incident, Kyosuke just vanished without a trace.

"Kyosuke… I wonder where you are at right now..." said Batsu.

Later, the relay race involving all the schools was about to commence. This consisted of Taiyo High, Pacific High, Gorin High, Gedo High (surprisingly), Seijyun High, and Justice High. Batsu soon started to fidget in his seat.

"What's wrong?" asked Hinata.

"Oh man! I think I had too much soda!" said Batsu. "I gotta go to the bathroom!"

"I warned you not to drink so much!"

"Forget it! I'll be back!"

Batsu immediately got up and ran out of his seat to get inside the stadium hallways.

"Bathroom bathroom bathroom!" said Batsu as he ran about trying to find the nearest toilet. He runs through the floor trying to find a restroom, but it was closed for cleaning. Cursing, he ran to the next floor to find another. After about a minute, he finally finds one and ran to the door where he goes to one of the stalls to relieve himself. "Phew… that was close..."

Finally finishing, Batsu goes to use the sink. "Man… I drank more than I thought." He heard screaming crowds outside. "Man, the events must be really exciting. I'd better hurry up or I'll miss out!"

"BATSU!"

"Wha!?" Batsu was taken by surprise when Hinata suddenly burst into the restroom looking frantic. "Hinata! What are you doing? This is the men's room!"

"Never mind that! We've got a serious problem here!" said Hinata.

"What? Did a fight break out?" asked Batsu.

"Worse! You have to come out here right now!" Hinata grabbed Batsu's wrist and pulls him out through the door.

Batsu was shocked when he came out. People were running and screaming about in a panic as they started to actually disintegrate before them.

"What the hell!?" said Batsu. "They're all turning to dust!"

"Come on, Batsu!" said Hinata.

They quickly made their way to the stadium stands where they saw more people turning to dust. Once they got there, they were horrified when they saw the stadium slowly die down until they were the only ones left. The place that was once teeming with cheers became dead silent in a matter of a few moments.

"Batsu! Hinata!"

The two turned to see a girl with black hair done up in a sidetail and carrying a camera. She wore a Taiyo High uniform along with a blue open vest, black fingerless gloves, and yellow shades on her head.

"Ran? Are you all right? What happened here!?" asked Batsu. He saw Ran about to collapse and quickly caught her before she fell to the ground.

"I… I don't know… I was just taking pictures for the school paper, and next thing I knew, everyone was literally falling apart!" said Ran.

"Ran! What happened to the others? Are they all right?" asked Hinata.

"I don't know… there might be survivors, but..." Ran also began to slowly dissolve.

"Ran!"

Ran could only stay silent as she dissolved to nothing, leaving her camera behind. Batsu looked shocked as Hinata held her hands to her mouth in horror.

"RAN!"

Batsu looked at the camera and picked it up to look through the photos taken. He saw pictures of the sporting events, which then became photos of people in mid-disintegration. Hinata's heart fell further when she saw three certain people in one picture who were dissolving.

"No… Natsu… Shoma… Roberto..." said Hinata.

Batsu stood up holding the camera. "Hinata, let's search for any survivors!"

Hinata nods and they go back inside.

The two Taiyo High students ran through the now empty hallways. Considering the size of the stadium, it was a huge place to search.

"It's a big place, it can't be completely empty..." said Batsu.

"Hey! Is anyone out there!?" called out Hinata.

"Oi! If's someone's there, say something!" called Batsu.

A short distance ahead of them, the double doors leading further into the stadium opened up where two people come out.

The first was a teen boy with short blonde fringed hair wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves folded, a red necktie, and a red formal vest. He had on blue jeans, red and black sneakers, and black fingerless gloves with a silver watch on his left wrist.

The second was a busty teen girl with long blonde hair ties in a curly ponytail with a curly fringe at the front of her face. She wore what looked like a very daring cheerleader outfit consisting of a blue sleeveless thong leotard with a big white star covering her large chest and thigh-high leggings with red and white stripes on top and blue laced-up boots. On her head was a blue bandanna with a white star and on her hands white handwraps.

"Roy? Tiffany?" said Batsu.

The ones in question turned to Batsu.

"Batsu? Hinata?" said Roy.

"Oh my God! You guys are still alive!" said Tiffany.

"We should be saying that!" said Hinata, happy to have run into someone they know.

"It's good to see you guys are still around!" said Batsu.

"Could say the same." said Roy.

Hinata noticed something. "Hey, where's Boman?"

Roy could only look away as Tiffany looked sad.

"Boman… he… vanished right before our eyes..." said Tiffany.

"Oh no..."

"He was right there, and we couldn't…." Tiffany was on the verge of tears.

"Enough, Tiffany. There was nothing we could've done. I doubt any of us could..." said Roy. "Just like those two guys from Gedo."

Batsu and Hinata winced as they thought about Edge and Gan, the two lieutenants of Daigo Kazama. Even they've vanished.

"I take it you couldn't find anyone else either?" asked Batsu.

"No, and we've been searching ourselves. You guys are the first we ran into."

"Wait… what about the rest of the town?" asked Hinata.

"I'm worried, too. Let's make for the entrance." said Batsu.

The four students head towards the main entrance hall of the stadium. To their surprise, they heard what sounded like a scuffle.

"A fight?" said Tiffany.

"Come on!" said Batsu.

They burst through the double doors to see what looked like a bunch of black humanoid blobs with purple eyes attacking two other people. One was a middle-aged bespectacled man with short black hair wearing a white button down shirt with the sleeves folded up, a purple and green striped necktie, brown pants, and black shoes. He had on red fingerless gloves and silver shoulderguards. The other was a bespectacled woman with long black hair wearing a red sweater, brown stockings, and a black miniskirt with black high heels. She also had on a white lab coat and carried a black business pamplet.

"Hideo-sensei! Kyoko-sensei!" shouted Batsu.

Hideo and Kyoko paused momentarily in their fight to see the Taiyo and Pacific students.

"Hey! You're still alive?" said Hideo before he dodged an attack from one of the humanoid blobs before countering it with a punch.

"Hold on! We'll help you!" said Hinata.

Batsu, Hinata, Roy, and Tiffany ran forward and engaged the blob humanoids.

Batsu lands a punch to a blob's head followed by a spin kick, knocking it away. He crouched down and elbow charged another in the gut before hitting it with an uppercut. Grabbing another blob, he throws it into two more, then strikes another down with a flying kick. When two more of the blobs rushed at Batsu, he brought his fists back and threw them forward, firing off his Guts Bullet attack.

"KIAI DAN!"

The Guts Bullet sent the blobs flying.

Hinata rushed in with a side kick to a blob comboed into a high kick. She does a back kick at a blob behind her and thrust her hand forward in a palm strike. Jumping up, Hinata dropped down on a blob and brought both her fists down on its head then flipped forward to axe kick another one. Landing before another blob, she crouched down and launched herself upward while spinning her fists around, knocking them back.

"SHOUYOUKEN!"

Roy tagged two blobs with a shoulder charge then punched with a hard straight, slamming them into the wall. He goes off and hits a nearby blob with an uppercut then kicked it away before it hit the ground. Spinning around, Roy struck a blob in the head with a backfist punch then grabbed and slammed it into the floor. He then jumped up and kicks another blob down, then as he came down, Roy punched the floor, causing a ki column to erupt that knocked back 2 more blobs.

"TOUCHDOWN WAVE!"

Tiffany does a forward cartwheel where she knocked down a blob with a double heel drop then stomped its head. Two more blobs attacked her from opposite sides, where she jumped up doing the splits, kicking them both away. She then charge forward while punching both her fists at a blobs face before following up with a front kick to the gut. Sidestepping a blob's attack, Tiffany delivered a backfist punch to the back of its neck followed by a downward punch, knocking it to the ground. Seeing more blobs coming at her, Tiffany jumped up and dove down on them with a diving kick with both feet.

"EXCITE KICK!"

Hideo punches a blob with a charging hook then knocked it into another blob with a side kick. He gives a gut punch to another blob before sending it down with an elbow strike to the back. Hideo then kicks a nearby blob then comboed into an axe kick to the head, knocking it down, then hits another one with a flying kick. Landing, Hideo cupped his cands to his side, charging his ki before thrustsing his palms forward, firing a ki shot that blasted three more blobs away.

"SEIHAKEN!"

Kyoko does a step-in side kick on a blob then lashed out with her other leg, sending it flying to the side. She then blocked a blob's fist with her pamphlet, then countered with a knee kick to the gut and swinging the pamphlet at its head. Kyoko then rushed forward, grabbing a blob before kicking it repeatedly while holding it in place, the last kick knocking it down. Afterward, she flipped over a blob trying to attack her from behind where she land behind it, knocking it down with her pamphlet and stomping its head. Kyoko launched herself up with a rising knee kick that send a blob upward, then axe kicked it back down.

"SHOUTEN SEKKAI!"

After some time, the humanoid blobs were all finally taken down. The four students and two teachers stood a bit winded after the fight they had gone through.

"Finally… it's over..." said Kyoko. She turned to the students of Taiyo and Pacific. "We thank you for coming when you did. Who knows what would've happened."

"We're just glad you're all right." said Hinata.

"What's going on? Almost everyone in the stadium just turned to dust!" said Roy.

"Yeah, we couldn't believe it ourselves." said Hideo. "It happened so suddenly it caught everyone off guard. Kyoko and I tried to find anyone still solid, but then..."

"You ran into these things." Batsu finished. "Where the hell did they come from?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"Hey, look!" said Tiffany.

Everyone turned to the cheerleader and noticed her looking at the monsters they just defeated. All of them just melted into the ground without a trace.

"What in..." said Hinata.

"This day just gets stranger by the minute." said Roy. "It feels like we just stepped into a zombie apocalypse movie or something."

"Ah, Roy! Don't say such things!" said Tiffany.

"In any case, we can't stay here." said Kyoko.

"Kyoko's right. We need to check the city." said Hideo. "Better stick together. Who knows if there are more of those things we just fought out there."

"Good idea. Let's get going!" said Batsu.

The four students and two teachers exit the stadium.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

So now the entity begins to systematically erase people on earth. Some cast of Street Fighter and Rival Schools/Project Justice are left in shock at what had occurred in the past few hours. What will possibly happen now? Unfortunately, troubles are still brewing.

Next time, we return to present day Metro City where a few separate reunions occur.

Please leave a review and tell me what you all think!


	5. Broken Reunions Part 2

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 4: Broken Reunions Part 2

Metro City…

Crowds were teeming about the entrance to a concert hall as tickets soon sold out. In the lobby stood a well-dressed man with short slicked back blonde hair. His outfit consisted of a light blue pinstripped button down shirt with the sleeves folded to the elbows under a purple formal vest with a red necktie, black pants and shoes.

"It's been a while since I last saw everyone..." said the man.

"Cody!"

Cody turned to see two people approaching him. The first was a man with dark brown hair wearing a red sleeveless gi and pants ensemble with a yellow waist band, red high-top sneakers, and yellow armguards. The second was a woman with long blonde hair tied in a topknot wearing a closed up short blue coat stopping above her knees and red high top sneakers.

"Guy!" said Cody, waving to them. "So you made it."

"It's been awhile, my friend." said Guy.

"So you're the famous Cody, huh?" said the woman.

"Oh, by the way, Cody, this is Maki, my sister-in-law."

"Oh, pleasure to meet you, Maki. You a ninja like Guy?" asked Cody.

"Please! I'm a BETTER ninja!" said Maki. "I only let him be the current Bushin Ryu successor."

Guy give Cody an aside comment. "It's best just to indulge her..."

"Hey there!"

Cody, Guy, and Maki turned to see four other people coming up. The first was a tall muscular mustached man with short brown hair wearing a white button down shirt with a dark green coat and pants ensemble with brown shin-guarded boots. The second was a young woman with long blonde hair wearing a red strapless cocktail dress with a short skirt and high heels. The third was a man with long brown hair wearing blue jeans, a blue denim vest over a black shirt, brown boots, and black wristbands. The fourth was a woman with short blonde hair wearing blue cutoff jean shorts, sneakers, and strapless bra with a brown leather vest and fingerless gloves.

"Haggar! Carlos! Lucia!"

Cody was a bit surprised to see one certain person.

"Jessica..."

Cody Travers was once one of the heroes of Metro City who took down the Mad Gear Gang, then was later incarcerated for street violence due to his fighting obsession. This suddenly fall from grace was a shock to everyone and as a result alienated him. He became a violence-obsessed scrapper who engaged in brawls out of boredom that he didn't care about his situation that lead him to jail, not that it could hold him for very long anyway. Only by being involved with helping to take down Shadaloo alongside Guy was what started Cody back on the right path somewhat. Haggar later managed to get him a lawyer to exonerate Cody of his crimes, and soon after, he somehow became the new mayor of Metro City after Haggar stood down.

"Hello, Cody. You're looking well." said Jessica.

"Yeah, same to you."

"So son, how's it feel being the new mayor of this city?" asked Haggar.

"Heh, pretty damn boring if you ask me. I don't know how you put up with it."

"Just think of it as another way of cleaning up the streets."

"Didn't stop you from personally doing it with your fists from time to time, old man."

"Hey! Those were special situations and you know it!"

"But I have to say, you've done a great job so far, Mr. Mayor." said Lucia.

"Please, let's not be so formal here. Cody is fine." said Cody.

"Speaking of which, strange place for a mayor to set a reunion at." said Carlos.

"Hey, don't think of me as one of those typical stuffy suits you see everywhere. I tend to be down to earth."

"Oh! It's almost time!" said Jessica as she pointed to the double doors leading into the main concert hall.

"Alright! Time to party get our money's worth!"

Sometime earlier, another reunion had gone underway in the same lobby. A man with black hair that seemed to spike backwards stood with two young women. He wore a blue business suit with black shoes, a white button down shirt with a light blue formal vest, and a red necktie. The teen girl had shoulder length brown hair tied in a dolphin tail wearing a dark blue dress with white gloves and boots, a red scarf, and a light blue top hat and cape with card suit prints at the tail ends. The young woman had long light brown hair tied in a side tail on the left side of her head with a blue ribbon and wore a yellow blazer and short skirt. She had brown stockings, white ankle boots, an untucked white button down shirt with a blue necktie, and a single black glove with blue trim on her right hand that was fingerless on the ring finger and pinkie. Around her neck was some kind of pendant with what looked like a robot's head.

"It will be great to see everyone again, isn't it, Daddy?"

"Sure will, Trucy."

"I have to say, meeting at a concert hall is pretty awesome, Mr. Wright!"

"Just try to contain yourself, Athena."

Phoenix Wright is a defense attorney from the Wright Anything Agency, formerly Fey and Co. Law Offices long ago. Years prior after he got cleared of a false murder charge by ace attorney, Mia Fey, he decided to pursue a career in law and since became her protege. With the tragic death of Mia, Phoenix took in her sister, Maya Fey, and brought her killer (an asshole who shall forever remain unnamed) to justice. Afterwards, Phoenix started the Wright and Co. Law Offices where he, Maya, and later her cousin Pearl Fey, took on many murder cases with their clients being falsely accused of said crimes. Thanks to his deductive skills and drive to discover the truth, he exonerated innocent defendants while at the same time exposing the real culprits. This also brought him face-to-face with some rather eccentric prosecutors who'd do anything to win their case. For a time after that, Phoenix had been disbarred due to a jealous defense attorney setting him up, where he came to adopt Trucy as his daughter. He also made acquaintance with rookie defense attorney, Apollo Justice, where they took down said jealous defense attorney of all the crimes he committed out of petty spite. Sometime after that, Phoenix gets reinstated as a lawyer and reopened his law office under the name of Wright Anything Agency, where he takes Athena Cykes under his wing. His latest venture took him to the Kingdom of Khura'in, where lawyers and law practice were forbidden no thanks to the DC Act. Phoenix would later be reunited with a now grown up Maya where they uncover the kingdom's conspiracy that had been going on for over twenty years. At that time, Apollo chose to stay in Khura'in to help bring law practice back with the Defiant Dragons.

"Sorry, but after so many cases, it just feels good to finally unwind!" said Athena.

"Nick!"

Phoenix turned to see a young woman and a teen girl coming towards him. The woman had long black hair tied in a dolphin tail with purple beads on the ends of her front bangs and a small tuft of hair tied at the top of her head. She wore a white kimono with a violet sash and a dark purple outercoat as well as black sandals and purple tie bracelets. Around her neck was a necklace of beads with a magatama at the center. The teen girl had light brown hair tied in two loops at the top of her head and a single violet bead on her left front bang. She was dressed similar to the woman she was with but with a shorter kimono stopping just above the knees and a pink outercoat.

"Maya! Pearl!" said Phoenix.

"Oh! You guys made it!" said Athena.

"Came all the way from Kurain Village?" asked Trucy.

"You got it. Wouldn't want to miss this. Same with Mystic Maya!" said Pearl.

"Pearl! You're embarrassing me!" said Maya. "Still, it's great to see you guys again."

"How goes your duties as Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique?" asked Phoenix.

"Quite stressful, to be honest. Still, I bet it's no different with your job, knowing the kinds of cases you get into."

"Heh… yeah..."

"You all never seem to change."

They all turned to the voice to see a man with dark gray hair wearing a maroon-colored pants and longcoat ensemble with black shoes, formal vest, and a white cleft tied around his neck. With him were several people.

One was a heavyset man with black hair in a dark gray suit with a beige button down shirt, brown necktie, black shoes, and a worn green trenchcoat.

Next was a young woman with long dark brown hair wearing a pink button down shirt under a green formal vest with a red ribbon tie, brown capri pants, and black low heel pumps. She had on a white lab coat and had a pair of pink-lensed glasses on top of her head.

There was another young woman with long black hair tied in a topknot by what looked like a key. She wore a red shirt with the sleeves folded past the elbows, a short black skirt, black boots, and brown gloves. Around her nec was a dark blue muffler with a gold bird-shaped clip.

The last one was another young woman with short silver blue hair wearing a black formal vest over a white long-sleeved dress shirt with poofed shoulders and a black business skirt. She had brown sticking, black high heel ankle boots and black gloves.

"Edgeworth!" said Phoenix.

"Wright." said Edgeworth.

"Detective Gumshoe! Ema!" said Maya.

"Hey guys!" said Gumshoe.

"Great to see you!" said Ema.

Pearl smiled, then her gaze fell on the silver-haired woman. "Oh, Franziska..."

Franziska looked away. "Don't get the wrong idea. I only came because Edgeworth asked me to."

"Oh come on, Franziska, lighten up! We're all friends here!" said the topknot woman.

"We have different definitions of that, Kay."

"Guys! You're so mean! Don't go forgetting about me!"

A lanky man with brown hair that seemed to have been licked upward comes in. He had red pants with brown shoes, a black button down shirt with a white necktie, and an orange coat with prints of a weird heart-shaped animal on it. On his head was a maroon-colored artist beret.

"Oh come on, Larry, we wouldn't forget about you." said Phoenix.

"No matter how much we try to." added Edgeworth.

"Hey! That's not funny!" said Larry indignantly. Everyone laughed at his expense.

"A bit lively here, isn't it."

Athena recognized the voice and turned to see a pale man with long black hair tied in a thick ponytail with white bangs on the right side of his head. He wore a black suit and tie ensemble with black boots and what looked like a black and white samurai overcoat. On his shoulder was a hawk.

"Simon! You're here, too!" said Athena.

"I have to say, this is a first for me. I'm more into rakugo, personally." said Simon Blackquill.

"Well, that's almost all of us." said Phoenix.

"Correction. It is."

Finally, a young man with light brown hair with two spikes in front walked in. He wore a white button down shirt with the sleeved folded up with a blue necktie, rown shoes, red pants, and a red formal vest. Around his left wrist was a wooden bracelet.

"Apollo!" said Athena.

"Polly!" said Trucy.

"Hey guys. Good to be back." said Apollo Justice.

Introductions were made until Phoenix asked a question.

"We haven't seen you since we left the Kingdom of Khura'in. How's the situation there?"

"It's finally getting back on its feet. Now that the DC Act's been rendered null and void, the Defiant Dragons no longer have to live in hiding. We've opened some law offices, but we've been getting swarmed with requests. I just needed some downtime." replied Apollo.

"You're right. Well, the show is about to start!" said Phoenix as he lead the group to the main concert hall.

"Let's go! I hear the star's a real babe!" said Larry.

Some time later, the main concert hall was teeming with excitement as the show was about to begin. The lights dimmed as the stage illuminated with multi-colored laser lights.

"Alright folks! We're just about to begin the show!"

The stage fog rolled in as a voluptuous female figure in a red hooded cloak rose up from the floor.

"You all asked for her and you got her! She's a rising musical star hailing all the way from Las Vegas, gracing us with her presence here at Metro City to give us a show we'll never forget! ARE YOU READY?"

The crowds loudly cheered in response.

"THEN LET'S HIT! THE! MUSIC!"

On cue, the cloaked woman threw her cloak off, revealing a very sexy scantily clad tan-skinned woman with a mane of long blue hair. Upon closer inspection, she is not a human, but a catwoman as she had feline traits. She had thin white fur stripes that lined her shapely body like a skimpy thong bikini, the ones on her ample breasts barely covering the bare minimum. Around her stomach was another thin fur strip that circled her navel in a diamond shape, a stripe around her neck like a choker, and a thin stripe circled around each of her upper arms and upper thighs. Her arms and legs from the elbows and knees down were covered with white fur and ended with human-shaped cat paws with three-inch long red claws. On top of the woman's head were pointed cat ears and a long white tail came out of the small of her back.

"HELLO METRO CITY!" shouted the catwoman.

"WE LOVE YOU FELICIA!"

The crowds went wild as Felicia performed her musical dance number. She had several backup dancers, the women dressed as catwomen and succubi, and the men dressed as werewolves and vampires. Everyone was captivated by Felicia, especially the male half. Felicia soaked in the attention as she mesmerized the crowds with her singing and dancing. Every time a song ended, people cheered for more, which she was happy to oblige.

Sometime later, they finally reached the end of the concert program.

"Thank you Metro City for having me here! I know the show is over, but all good things must come to an end! You've all been a great audience! Hope you all enjoyed the concert!" said Felicia.

The people continued to cheer as Felicia left the stage to go to her dressing room. Once she arrived, she found her table filled with gifts from fans.

"Oh my, there's so much tonight." said Felicia. She is a catwoman who is also of a race of beings known as Darkstalkers. Darkstalkers is the label given to nocturnal supernatural beings and tend to be prejudiced by humans. It didn't help that Darkstalkers tend to be violent monsters who engage in carnage for fun and/or glory. As a child, Felicia never knew her real birth parents, having been found and cared for by Sister Rose in an orphanage. Growing up, Felicia had dreams of stardom, wanting to perform in Las Vegas to show that humans and Darkstalkers can peacefully coexist. After getting involved in an incident where the flaming alien, Pyron, touched down on Earth to add to his planet collection, then later a crisis in the Makai by the demon noble, Jedah, Felicia was finally able to achieve her dream of becoming a world famous musical star.

"You've done well, Felicia."

Felicia turned to see a lean-built man with a shock of white hair dressed in a dark purple kung fu outfit with the sleeves folded up and black kung fu shoes.

"Oh, Jon! I didn't see you there." said Felicia.

"How does it feel being famous?" asked Jon.

"It feels wonderful! Hearing the cheering of my fans is my greatest reward!"

"Well you did work for it."

"But I couldn't have done it without your support."

Jon Talbain couldn't help but feel flustered. Like Felicia, he, too, is a Darkstalker, specifically a werewolf. Before he met the catwoman, Jon was an angry, bitter man who was shunned by humanity due to his lycanthropy. At times, he couldn't control the raging beast inside of him and would transform at inopportune times. In order to control the beast within, Jon took up martial arts to focus his mind and spirit. This allowed him to consciously fight as a werewolf with his own mind rather than as a wild animal. Still, it wasn't enough to sate the beast in him and made him indifferent to humanity.

His meeting with Felicia changed the direction he took in his life. Like Jon, she grew up in a prejudiced world, but unlike him, who grew to be embittered and antisocial, Felicia still maintained a positive outlook on life. It was something he couldn't quite understand, yet at the same time it was what attracted him to her. Slowly but surely, his faith in humanity started to grow. Thanks to her, Jon's being became whole as he accepted the beast within as a part of himself when he initially tried to purge it. Since then, he accompanied Felicia on her world musical tour.

"If anything, you're my support, Felicia." said Jon. "I was just an aimless vagabond the world gave up on and gave up on myself. You never stopped believing I'm better than I thought I was."

Felicia walks up and put a hand on Jon's face. "I guess we both support each other, Jon, and I wouldn't have it any other way. We've been through so much together."

"Yeah, you're right." said Jon. He recalled all his past battles with other Darkstalkers and demons. Most prominent that came to mind were that vampire and succubus. They were a pain to deal with, but he and Felicia sort of came to an understanding with them somewhat, especially when Pyron and Jedah came. There were also those two dark hunters as well.

"And despite how many fans I have, you'll always be my number one." said Felicia as she looped her arms around Jon's neck.

Jon wrapped his arms around Felicia's waist. "You really mean that?"

"I do."

Suddenly, their sensitive hearing picked up some screaming outside.

"What was that?" said Felicia.

"It's coming from outside." said Jon.

Leaving the dressing room, Felicia and Jon came out through the main concert hall, finding it empty.

"Huh? I know the show's over, but I didn't think the place would empty out so quickly." said Felicia.

Jon noticed something floating about in the air. "Where'd all this dust come from?"

Felicia's eyes widened when she sniffed the air. "Uh… Jon…? there's something about this dust..."

Jon sniffed the air, and his eyes also widened. "Wait… is this…? Why does it smell like humans?"

It was then the two Darkstalkers heard some more screaming outside. They quickly made their way out to the entrance doors and threw them open to get outside where they see a small group of people.

A minute earlier, Cody, Guy, Haggar, and Maki were on one side of the entrance while Phoenix, Maya, Pearl, Apollo, Edgeworth, and Athena were on the other.

"JESSICA! NO!"

"Carlos and Lucia… they just vanished…!"

"TRUCY! TRUCY!"

"Gumshoe! Ema! Kay! Franziska!"

"Blackquill just vanished!"

"Larry's gone!"

That was when both groups noticed the other.

"Huh? There are some people over there!" said Guy.

"Hey, there are others here!" said Edgeworth.

Both groups came to each other.

"You people real?" asked Maki.

"Of course we are!" said Apollo. "I just want to know what's going on!"

"Yeah! One moment, the place was full of people, the next, we're all alone!" said Maya.

Haggar then recognized Phoenix. "Hey, I know you. You're that lawyer I hired."

Phoenix looked at the muscular man. "Huh? Mayor Haggar?"

"Ex-mayor now. Haven't seen you since I had you exonerate Cody here."

Phoenix looked over to Cody. "Wait, now that I think about it, I do recall that trial." Since Cody's part in helping to stop Shadaloo (in his own way), Haggar managed to find a bit of hope in the jailbird that Guy saw so had hired Phoenix Wright to represent him in trial. He didn't disappoint and got Cody cleared of charges, where he surprised everyone by becoming the new mayor.

"But aside from that, how are you still here?" asked Cody.

"Honestly, your guess is as good as ours." said Edgeworth.

That was when Felicia and Jon exited the building where they ran into the group of humans.

"Hey! What happened here? Where's all the people?" asked Jon.

Everyone turned to look at the two.

"Our friends… they just vanished!" said Maki.

"Same with us!" added Apollo. "Just what is going on!?"

"Wait… then that dust inside was…?" said Felicia in horror.

"Are you saying we're the only ones left in this city?" asked Jon.

"It looks like it..." replied Cody. He wanted to clean up the city, but not like this.

"Hey! What's that over there?" asked Maya as she pointed off in a direction.

Everyone turned to look at what Maya was facing. They saw some shadows moving across the ground before stopping to form themselves. To their surprise, each shadow transformed into dark humanoid beings with glowing purple eyes and hammerheads for hands.

"What… the hell are those things?" asked Apollo.

"Whatever they are, they don't look too friendly..." said Athena.

A hammerhand runs up and swung one of its hammer fists at Guy, who quickly backflips out of the way.

"I suppose that answers that question." said Phoenix.

"What do we do!?" asked a panicked Pearl.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do!" said Haggar as he tore off his coat and shirt, leaving him wearing a thick bandoleer over his chest. He pulls a pair of green fingerless gloves from his pants pocket and puts them on. "I'm going to smash their skulls in!"

With that, the former Metro City mayor charged into the hammerhand group with fists flying.

"I agree! Let's go, guys!" said Cody as he punched his fist into his palm before joining Haggar.

Guy followed and leaped into action. Maki throws off her coat, where she was now wearing a red ninja gi and skirt ensemble with a halter top style and brown handguard bracers. She brandished a tonfa in hand before joining the others.

"You guys hide in the building! We'll handle this!" said Felicia to Phoenix and his group before she and Jon entered the fray.

"You heard her! Let's go!" said Phoenix as he lead Maya and the others back inside.

Cody landed a flying kick on a hammerhand, knocking it down. He hits another with a jab/body blow/uppercut combo, grabs and knees another in the gut before shoulder throwing it into other hammerhands, then launched two more into the air with his Criminal Upper.

Guy runs in with a spinning back kick on a hammerhand before striking out at another with his rush combo of two jabs, body blow, elbow thrust, and spinning roundhouse kick. He quickly ran forward and knocked a hammerhand back with a backfist blow. Flipping ahead, Guy jumps over a hammerhand where he grabbed it from behind and slammed it into the pavement headfirst. He then gets surrounded by three hammerhands, where Guy jumps up with a spinning kick that knocked them all away.

Haggar knocked down a few hammerhands with a flying lunge attack. He gut punches another before slamming it down with a hammer punch. Turning, Haggar launched himself into a drop kick that sent two more hammerhands flying and crashing into a parked car. Getting up, Haggar Spun about with his fist out in his spinning lariat, knocking away the hammerhands trying to surround him. Then he grabs a nearby hammerhand and jumps up, pile-driving it into the pavement.

Maki dashed in with a flying kick to a hammerhand's head, then lashed out with her tonfa to strike down another. She ran about tagging more with her tonfa, knocking them out before hitting another away with a high kick. Then Maki jumped up and slammed her tonfa right on a hammerhand's head, then she does a handstand spin kick that knocked more away.

Felicia leaped in with her claws bared, scratching two hammerhands down. Another tried to get her from behind, but was whipped in the face by her tail, then followed up with a back kick. She uses her claws to slash out at any hammerhand coming at her before jumping up and striking down another with a diving kick. Balancing herself on her tail, Felicia lunged forward feet first at a hammerhand, knocking it into two more of them. Then Felicia curled herself into a ball where she plowed through more like a living buzzsaw, ending in a rising uppercut.

Jon knocked back a hammerhand with a flying kick then elbow charged another. He hits another with a backfist punch followed by a palm strike. A hammerhand that jumped at Jon got knocked out of the air by a back flip kick then lashed out with a spinning roundhouse at another as soon as he landed. Jon suddenly rushed forward and elbow charged a hammerhand then charged in another direction to hit another. The Jon rolled forward, stopping before another hammerhand and knocked it back with an uppercut.

From within the building, Phoenix and the others were in awe at the sight.

"Whoa! They're good!" said Maya.

"They certainly know how to handle themselves." said Edgeworth.

"I feel bad we're unable to help them." said Pearl.

"It can't be helped. We don't know how to fight." said Apollo.

"Gah! I feel so powerless!" said Phoenix.

Athena's eyes widened as she heard something behind them. Turning around she saw more of the hammerhands.

"Guys! There in here, too!" shouted Athena.

Everyone was shocked to see the monsters behind them.

"Oh no! More of them!?" said Maya.

"We can't stay in here!" said Edgeworth.

"Run for it!" shouted Apollo.

The group of fighters were surprised to see the team of lawyers and spirit mediums run out the building.

"Hey! What are you doing out here? It's not safe!" said Cody as he floored another hammerhand.

"It's not safe in there, either!" said Phoenix.

They all see more hammerhands coming out of the building.

"Damn! Just great!" cursed Haggar.

"We can't fight these things and protect them at the same time!" said Felicia.

"No choice then! We need to run!" said Guy and he took out a hammerhand.

Cody ran forward. "Everyone follow me! We'll escape into the subway!"

Everyone ran after Cody, with the hammerhands slowly pursuing. They arrive at one of the stairways leading into the subway station. Once they get downstairs, they were blocked off by more of the shadow monsters.

"This doesn't look good..." said Maki.

"We're surrounded!" said Apollo.

"I say bring it on!" said Haggar.

From the corner of her eye, Felicia spots a half closed manhole. "Guys! I think I found a way out!"

They all turned to see the manhole. "There? That looks disgusting!" said Athena.

Haggar quickly goes over and lifts the lid. "Disgusting or not, it's our only way out! Now all of you get in!"

The group headed over to Haggar and the manhole. Pearl and Maya went down first. Athena was firmly coaxed into it. Next was Apollo, Phoenix, and Edgeworth. Once they were down, Maki heads in next, followed by Felicia and Jon. Guy and Cody followed. Once everyone was in, Haggar gets in last while closing the lid above him, preventing the monsters from following. Unknown to all of them, the manhole ladder lead right into a familiar black substance…

Unknown area…

There was darkness, then suddenly, the area gets illuminated by mystic supernatural fire torches and candles lining the walls, revealing what looks like the grand hall of a castle. The yellow stone floors were covered with red carpets lining the pathways and up the staircases leading to the balcony levels. The center of the carpet showed a yellow bat design which lead to an elevated platform where a gold coffin lay covered by a red cloth. Behind it was a throne shaped like a demon's mouth.

Sitting on the throne was a man with a chiseled face and dark brown hair that flared upward. He wore a red formal vest with a blue coat and pants ensemble, brown boots, and a white cleft on his neck. Trailing behind him was a black cape with red interior. The outfit was tight enough to show off his muscled form. Another thing about him was his eyes were pupil-less.

Standing a distance before him was a shapely woman with long green hair wearing a black strapless leotard that showed off her shoulders and cleavage with black high heel boots and purple stockings with bat prints. On her arms were orange detached form-fitting sleeves attached to a white feathery strap wrapping around her middle back and upper arms. She also had large bat wings on her back and smaller ones on her head.

The two stood silent as they faced each other.

"So you've finally come, Morrigan Aensland."

"Well you were the one who called me over here, Demitri Maximoff. So what do you want now?"

Demitri was a vampire noble from Makai who had designs to rule the Demon Realm. He arrogantly challenged the current ruler of Makai, Belial Aensland, and lost badly, resulting in him getting exiled along with his castle, Zeltzereich. He had spent a century recovering his strength and gaining additional power in an attempt to try again. His plans had been stalled by the unexpected arrival of the flaming alien being, Pyron, who became a threat to all life on Earth, human and Darkstalker alike. Demitri had no choice but to join up with others to defeat the cosmic being. Once that was over, he found to his disappointment that Belial has died, leaving Morrigan his successor. Then there was the incident with Jedah Dohma, who had the insane idea to destroy everything and unite all souls into one being he claims to become the next lord of all realms.

Morrigan was a succubus and daughter of the King of Makai, Belial. Although a princess, she couldn't care less about her royal duties and would rather amuse herself with trips to the human world as well as getting into fights with powerful opponents. She got more than what she bargained for when Pyron arrived, and like Demitri, had to work with other Darkstalkers to put an end to him. After her father died, she found out about the existence of another succubus, Lilith, who happened to be the personification of her excess power given form. Due to that, Lilith became obsessed with trying to find Morrigan , claiming "she has her body". After the encounter, Morrigan emerged victorious, but took pity on Lilith, so she absorbed her into herself, finally becoming one again.

"Isn't it obvious?" said Demitri as he suddenly levitated from his throne to land before Morrigan then emitted his vampiric aura. "I wish to settle things with you. Tonight, we shall truly see who will be the true ruler of Makai!"

Morrigan gives Demitri a look before folding her arms and tilting her head, then finally replies, "Nope, tonight's not a good time."

"What?" said Demitri.

"We seem to have visitors."

This caught Demitri's attention as they both looked off to the side to see what looked like a black portal open up in the air. To their surprise, a bunch of humans fell through and crashed in a heap. The last two to fall through landed on their feet, and are ones they're familiar with.

"Whew… that surprised me." said Felicia.

"But we managed to get away regardless." said Jon.

"Oh, it's the kitty and the wolf." said Morrigan. "How nice of you to drop in."

They turned around to face the two demon nobles.

"Huh? Morrigan and Demitri?" said Felicia.

"We wound up here of all places?" said Jon.

Their human passengers slowly got up.

"Hey, where are we?" asked Apollo.

Phoenix noticed the vampire and succubus before them. "Uh… hello."

"Humans!?" said Demitri.

"They must've wandered in here from the human world by mistake." said Morrigan.

"Human world? Wait, what do you mean by that?" asked Guy.

"She means we're in the Makai." replied Jon.

"Makai? What the hell is that?" asked Haggar.

"You just answered your own question, Haggar." said Maki. "In Japan, Makai is a word for Demon Realm."

"Wait wait wait, we're in a demon world!?" said Phoenix.

"Right you are, sir! I take it this is your first time with a demon?" asked Morrigan in a teasing manner.

"Mr. Nick! Don't you dare do it!" said Pearl.

"Don't do what!?" asked Phoenix.

"You people couldn't have come at a worse time! The Makai is on the brink of war." said Demitri.

"I… I think we may be in trouble… " said Athena.

"Trouble! Trouble!" said Widget, her robot companion around her neck.

"Oh don't worry, this one's all talk." said Morrigan.

"Morrigan..." said Demitri in annoyance.

"Sorry for the unannounced visit, you two, but we ran into a bit of trouble." said Felicia.

"We ran from some weird monsters that were different from those of Makai, then we wound up here." added Jon.

"And we had to protect them, too." said Felicia, gesturing to their human passengers. "Oh right, I'm sorry. I never got your names."

"Oh, uh… I'm Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney."

"Apollo Justice, I'm also a defense attorney."

"Athena Cykes, defense attorney."

"I'm Miles Edgeworth, a prosecutor."

"Maya Fey, a spirit medium."

"Pearl Fey, also a spirit medium."

The Metro City Heroes step up.

"I'm Cody, Metro City Mayor."

"Guy."

"Maki."

"Haggar, a former mayor."

"Hm hm… quite a crew." said Morrigan.

"Well it's nice to meet you all officially." said Felicia. "As you know, I'm Felicia, but I'm also a real catwoman." She gestures to Jon. "This is Jon, my… show manager." Then she gestures to Demitri and Morrigan. "And they are Demitri and Morrigan, nobles of the Makai."

"We're a vampire and a succubus, respectively." added Morrigan.

The humans were a bit shocked at how casually they said all that.

"Wait, for real?" asked Apollo.

"But those kinds of creatures are just myths! I don't believe in such nonsense!" said Edgeworth.

"After what had just happened the past few minutes, can you really say that?" asked Jon.

Edgeworth was stumped after hearing that, unable to counter.

"I can't believe I'm in a vampire's castle." said Cody.

"It does seem unreal." added Guy.

"Well aside from the scary interior, it looks lavish." said Pearl.

"Now that I think about it, I'm a bit curious as to the power I sense outside the castle..." said Demitri.

"So you felt it, too? I must say, this night won't be boring." said Morrigan.

"You have absolutely NO idea..." muttered Felicia.

To be continued…

Author's Notes:

Let's face it, EVERY fan of Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney hates that shithead who killed Mia Fey.

I based Haggar on his Final Fight 2 look, and Maki a combined version of her Final Fight 2 and SF Alpha incarnations.

So now the crews of Final Fight and Ace Attorney get mixed up with the Darkstalkers. The night is still young!

Please leave a review and tell me what you all think!


	6. Past, Present, and Future Tense

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 5: Past, Present, and Future Tense

Somewhere in the future at an old mine…

Smoke rose from a huge fire caused by an explosion. Some distance away from the danger zone were the two Maverick Hunters, X and Zero, sprawled out on the ground. The two groaned as they picked themselves up.

"Unnnngh… Zero, you all right?" asked X.

"I'm fine, X." said Zero. He looked at the now destroyed mine. "Though I have to say, that was cutting it pretty close..."

"No kidding." said X as he observed the destruction.

He and Zero were just investigating the anomaly detected by the Navigators of Hunter Base. X played the events is his head as he recalled seeing some strange dark energies building up in the mine's lower basement. Upon closer inspection, it was nothing more than what looked like a sphere of purple light floating eerily in the center of the room, no machine or other piece of equipment having it stabilized, much to the Maverick Hunters' confusion. The power the source had been emitting seemed to defy scientific probing. When they tried to approach it, the energy source suddenly came to life and attacked them. Initially, the orb of light shot at X and Zero with energy blasts, then lashed out with numerous tentacles. X barraged it with shots from his X-Buster cannon while Zero slashed out with his Z-Saber, slicing down any energy tentacles coming his way. They managed to defeat the strange creature, but then it triggered something in the mine. Wisely deciding not to stick around, they made a break for the exit just before the underground mine went up in flames, knocking them back and out.

"Should I even be surprised destroying some strange big enemy in a supposed abandoned area would cause a self-destruct?" said X.

"Probably not likely." said Zero.

That was when their comm-links sprang to life.

"X! Zero! Do you copy!?" shouted Alia.

"This is X. Zero and I are fine." said X through his comm-link.

"We've been trying to reach you for thirty minutes ever since that explosion happened where you are! What happened?"

"Were we out that long?" said Zero. "Explosion must have knocked us out."

"We encountered the source of the energy spike, but..." started X.

"It was hostile and were forced to take defensive measures." said Zero. "Whatever it was is destroyed, then it caused a reaction triggering the explosion. X and I were lucky to have gotten out in time."

"In any case, we're glad you're both all right." said Layer on the line. "Also, while you were out, we've also picked up something similar somewhere else. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

A holo-screen appeared before X and Zero, pinpointing the location.

"Hey, that location is..." said X.

Present day, dark city…

The three members of Devil May Cry looked at the group of people who had just appeared before them.

"Hey, just who are you guys and where the hell did you come from?" asked Dante.

"Huh? People?" said Jill as she looked at the trio before noticing their surroundings. "Where are we? How did we end up outside?"

"Hey, we asked first." said Lady.

"Now now, you two. We have to be civil here." said Trish before addressing the group. "Where are our manners? My name is Trish. This is Dante and Lady. We're exterminators of sorts."

"Oh, er, I'm Chris. Chris Redfield." said Chris.

"Jill Valentine."

"Barry Burton."

"We're with the BSAA." added Chris.

"Claire Redfield, TerraSave."

"Leon Keneddy, DSO."

"And I'm Frank. Frank West, freelance photographer." He eyes Trish and Lady as he held up his camera. "Very nice! Can I get some shots?"

Before they could react, Frank took a picture of the two female Devil Hunters ("Erotica" is suddenly displayed on the page).

"So where did you people come from?" asked Trish.

"Would you believe we fell through a hole in the floor and suddenly found ourselves here?" said Leon.

"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing we ever heard." said Dante.

"So judging by the weapons you guys have, you supposed to be military or something?" asked Lady.

"And with the government." said Claire. "You?"

"Something like that." said Trish.

"You mentioned you're exterminators. Of what, exactly?" asked Barry.

Dante suddenly whips out his Ivory Gun and took aim, alarming the survivors of Raccoon City and Willamette. A shot rang out as Dante fired right past their heads, where an inhuman death roar sounded off behind them. Turning around, the six looked to see the corpse of what looked like a human-sized marionette holding knives lying on the ground, it's face shot through completely.

"Of devils." replied Dante.

"What the hell!?" said Barry. "What is that thing?"

"A Marionette." replied Trish. "Haven't seen one of those since Mallet Island."

"Heads up, people." said Lady.

Suddenly, the group got surrounded by more of the hellish Marionettes.

"Dammit… I've always hated clowns..." said Frank as he looked at the clown-like devils.

"They're like any BOW." said Jill as she got out her gun.

"Well, it looks like another party." said Dante as he pulled out his sword. "Now then, let's dance."

The DMC crew darted off in different directions and began taking down the marionettes, much to the newcomers' surprise. Dante slashed his sword, slicing several marionettes in two at the waist then bisected another. Without missing a beat, he took out his Ebony Gun and shot a marionette point blank in the face. Trish charged in and sliced down more marionettes with the Alastor Sword, electrocuting them with purple lightning. With her free hand, she grabbed a marionnette by the face and shocked it with her lightning before throwing it into another. Lady dual-wields a pistol and an uzi, riddling marionettes with bullets. She quickly blocks a knife with her uzi before blasting the marionette in the face with her handgun.

"Well I can say one thing for those guys. They certainly love their jobs." said Claire.

Chris takes a marionette down with a headshot. "Regardless, there're too many of these things! Take 'em out!"

The Raccoon City survivors took out their guns and opened fire on the strange living puppets. Chris took down several with well-placed shots, then sent one flying with an uppercut. Jill knocked one back with a spinning roundhouse kic then dual-wields her submachine guns at either side of her to mow down more marionettes. Barry took out his assault rifle and unloaded into more marionettes, pausing to knock down one that got too close with the butt of the gun before shooting it. Leon dual-wields his handguns to tag marionettes in their heads then kicked out at one that tried to jump at him. Claire readied her submachine gun and fired into a line of marionettes. She quickly ducked a marionette trying to swipe at her with a knife then countered with a kick.

Frank took out his Defiler and swung it at the marionettes, reducing them to splinters then crushed another one with an overhead smash. He paused a moment to see Trish slash down a marionette then stomped another one under her stiletto boot.

"Ooh, that's a nice shot!" said Frank as he took out his camera and snapped a photo.

Trish looked over to see Frank taking a picture. "I hope you're taking my best side."

"Either is best!" Frank brings his Defiler to bear on an approaching marionette.

"I'm impressed. You certainly know how to handle yourselves." said Dante as he ran his sword through the heads of five marionettes before slashing at more while they were still impaled on the blade.

"Fighting freak horrors is something we're a bit too familiar with." said Jill as she shot down a marionette.

"But honestly, I feel I'm getting too old for this!" said Barry after blasting a marionette with his gun.

After another minute of fighting, they managed to defeat all the hellish puppets, leaving nothing but broken wood remains. Claire could only give a sigh of relief.

"I thought they'd never stop..." said Claire.

"Well that was fun." said Dante as he shouldered his sword.

"You and I have very different definitions of fun." said Leon.

"So these things aren't BOWs?" asked Jill.

"What the hell's a BOW? They're devils, plain and simple." replied Lady.

"Wait, you were serious?" asked Barry.

"Of course we are. They came from Hell itself." said Trish.

Frank and the Raccoon City survivors were stunned. Usually, the freaks they've fought before were the result of horrifying biological experiments gone horribly wrong. Despite this, they never would've imagined they'd encounter actual supernatural monsters.

"Great, what on earth have we stepped into?" said Chris.

Suddenly, a pair of voices caught their attention.

"Hey, where did we wind up this time?"

"Looks like another horror flick or something."

Everyone turned to see two people, a young man and young woman.

The man had red hair and a goatee, wearing gray khaki pants folded at mid-shin, yellow sneakers, a blue t-shirt with the letters "HMD" in white on the front, and a backwards yellow cap. On his wrist was a strange looking watch.

The woman had long blonde hair reaching her mid-back, wearing a pink sleeveless minidress with white boots and fingerless gloves. Around her neck was a light pink tie scarf and a pair of glasses on her face. Like the red-haired man, she also wore a similar watch.

"Joe, I really don't like being in horror genre films."

"Relax, Silvia. I'm sure the next film will be way cooler."

"Hey! You two! What are you doing here?" Chris called out, getting their attention.

"Huh? People?" said Joe.

"You two on a date or something? This is hardly the place for it." said Dante.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing like that." said Silvia.

"You shouldn't be here! This area is dangerous!" said Jill.

It was then ten marionettes emerged behind Joe and Silvia.

"Hey! Look out!" shouted Claire.

Joe and Silvia turned to see the strange puppets jump at them. Before the others could react, time seemed to have dragged to a snail's pace.

'_The hell? I haven't felt this sensation since fighting Geryon.'_ thought Dante, remembering the time-manipulating demon.

Next thing they all noticed was Joe and Silvia taking some strange poses as the marionettes were nearly upon them. Then a voice rang out.

"**At that moment of despair, our heroes, Joe and Silvia, recalled instinctively that key series of magical words, that bold, righteous, abra-cadabra that fills our hearts with love and emboldens our spirits! Yes, it's time, once and for all, yell those words and yell them proud!"**

"Hey, did anyone else hear that?" asked Leon.

"Wait, you heard that, too?" asked Barry.

Joe and Silvia took a pose and…

"HENSHIN A GO-GO, BABY!"

To everyone's surprise, the two suddenly transformed into costumed beings. Joe wore a red tight-fitting spandex suit with white gloves and boots. Around his neck was a pink scarf that seemed to continuously blow, and on his head was a red helmet with a silver V-shaped emblem complete with a black eye mask.

Silvia wore a light blue sleeveless short skirt dress with brown leggings and white elbow length gloves and knee high boots. On her head was a light blue helmet with a pink visor where her hair flowed out in a long topknot ponytail. She also held a pair of cheerleader pom-poms.

In that moment, the marionettes were knocked away from the pair, who took more poses.

"Viewtiful Joe!"

"And Sexy Silvia!"

"LET'S GET IT ON!"

Everyone stood stunned after seeing the sight.

"Okay, that's new..." said Chris.

"Are they supposed to be… superheroes?" asked Claire.

Viewtiful Joe ducked a knife swipe at his head from a marionette before countering with an uppercut, knocking it back, then jumped to dodged a slash from another at his legs before kicking it in the head. He rushed around, delivering punches and kicks that stunned the marionettes, then took another pose.

"MACH SPEED!"

To everyone's astonishment, Viewtiful Joe moved at super speed and looked to be on fire. He punched and kicked at marionettes at an unreal speed to the point he looked to have been duplicated. Three of the marionettes caught on fire before blowing up.

Sexy Silvia cartwheeled out of the way of a marionette's attack before flipping forward with an axe kick, knocking it down. Suddenly, her pom-poms transformed into a pair of guns where she shoots heart-shaped bullets wrapped in blue flame at more marionettes. She turned in time to see a marionette coming from behind where she takes a pose.

"REPLAY!"

Sexy Silvia kicked at the marionette, but the single kick repeated itself in rapid succession, causing her to sparkle with blue electricity. He gives another replay kick that caused the marionette to explode.

Both Viewtiful Joe and Sexy Silvia took on another pose before shouting out their next attack.

"S-S-S-SLOW!"

Again, everything slowed to a snail's pace. Standing on opposite sides of each other, Viewtiful Joe sends a marionette flying with a punch at the same time Sexy Silvia send another flying with a kick. Time resumed as the marionettes crashed into each other, exploding on contact. The pair turn to see the last two marionettes before them, then jumped up high into the air.

"RED HOT KICK!"

"COOL BLUE KICK!"

The two henshin heroes dove down at the marionettes with flying kicks that destroyed the hellish puppets on impact.

"Whoa..." said Lady.

"Despite their look, they know how to handle themselves." said Leon.

"Well, I've got to say, you two, that was pretty stylish." said Dante as he clapped.

Viewtiful Joe and Sexy Silvia turned to the group of people.

"Stylish? Naw, man, that was..." They took a pose. "… VIEWTIFUL!"

Unknown area, unknown time…

"Huh…? Wha…!?"

A man sits himself up from the ground in a strange area resembling a dark void. The surrounding area was lit up to see at least at a twenty foot radius from where he was at.

"Where is this…? Where am I?" said the man. He had short blonde hair with a single spike curving up from behind his head and wearing a red pilot's uniform with brown gloves and boots. A Union Jack flag was printed on the shoulders of his jacket and an image of a sexy brown haired angel in a red armored bikini holding a gun printed on the back. Around his neck under the jacket was a white scarf and a pair of goggles around his head. "Last thing I remember was flying around in my plane, then suddenly I find myself here, wherever here is..."

Suddenly, humanoid shadows emerged from the ground, taking the man by surprise. More appeared and they soon surrounded him.

"Who are you!?"

The man gets punched in the face by a nearby shadow in response. He wipes the blood off his mouth before getting into a boxing stance.

"So that's the way you want to play, eh? Well you picked the wrong fight!" He ran up and sucker-punched the shadow in the face, knocking it out. He looked at the remaining shadows. "Listen up! I'm Edward Falcon! Adventurer and professional boxer! And I'll teach you to respect the name!"

Falcon held up his fists as the shadows lunged at him. He lashed out with a punch at one shadow, hitting it out of the air, then turned to punch another. Rolling forward to avoid a shadow trying to swipe at him, Falcon rose up with an uppercut, knocking another back. He grabbed another shadow and threw it into more of them, then kicked at one charging from the side. Falcon the jumped up and dove down at a shadow with a flying kick, then backfists another upon recovery. A shadow grabbed Falcon from behind, trapping his arms when another comes to attack him from the front. He quickly knocked it back with a kick, then hits the shadow holding him in the face with the back of his head, causing it to let go where Falcon threw it forward into the one he kicked away.

Falcon huffed as he looked at his handiwork. "There! You see?"

The shadows melted back into the ground, followed by a flash of light that appeared before Falcon, catching him by surprise. The light then died down and to the pilot's surprise, it revealed a red fist-sized gem emitting a glow.

"Is that… a Power Stone?"

Falcon grabbed the red Power Stone, and as soon as he does, he felt himself falling into the void, screaming all the way.

Some time later, Falcon sits back up as he finds himself in another void area. He also noticed he was clutching the red Power Stone in his hand.

"So it is a Power Stone… but what good is it when I have no idea where I'm at?" Falcon just pockets the gem in his jacket.

It was then he heard a light moaning off to his side. He turned to see what looked like a voluptuous woman's body on the ground.

'_Wait…__ is that…?__' _thought Falcon as he got up and went to where the woman was at.

Upon closer inspection, the woman had dark tan skin with long dark brown hair tied in a thick braid with a heart-shaped gold ring attached to the end. On her head was a white headband with a red jewel ornament in the center. She wore white forearm-length gloves with a brown detached collar around her neck that served as a short cloak of sorts. The rest of her outfit left little to the imagination as it only consisted of a small blue bra top exposing her stomach all around with matching arm bands, lowcut purple harem pants with a pink trim and a gold heart-shaped buckle below her navel, and dark blue slipon shoes, giving her the look of an exotic belly dancer.

Falcon's eyes widened as he recognized the woman as that belly dancing fortune teller he met.

"Wait… Rouge? Hey! Wake up!"

Rouge stirred awake at hearing Falcon's voice. "Mmmm…. What…? Falcon? What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!"

Rouge looked down and revealed she was clutching an orange Power Stone in her hand. "I had forseen in my Power Stone an evil shadow looming over the world. It greatly worried me, so I went to investigate the matter, and I suddenly found myself here."

"You, too, huh?" said Falcon as he noticed Rouge's Power Stone. "You don't suppose it that floating castle again, do you?"

"No, it doesn't feel like that. This dark source seems more powerful than what the floating castle emitted long ago." said Rouge. "I fear that if left unchecked, the whole world will be doomed."

"Wait, what?" said Falcon.

"That was all I was able to see, but it is apparent we can't leave this alone." said Rouge. "This is way bigger than Kraken, Valgas, and Dr. Erode."

Falcon winced after he heard those names. Kraken was an evil pirate who tried to take over the world by hunting down all the Power Stones to use for himself and nearly succeeded if not for the interference of him and other Power Stone holders around the world. Valgas was a power-obsessed fighter who plotted to transform the world into one of continuous combat where only the strong could survive, an insane way of weeding out the weak. Falcon and his allies managed to stop his mad crusade at his home base of Avalon Island. The latest venture was the floating castle of Dr. Erode, a monstrous giant who kidnapped all known Power Stone holders in order to increase his own Power Stone. In the end, he was defeated and his castle crumbled to nothing in which everyone escaped on Falcon's plane.

"If you say it's bad, then it must be." said Falcon. "In any case, what can we possibly do when we don't even know where here is? This place is nothing but a void!"

Suddenly, Falcon's Power Stone began to glow as did Rouge's. Taking out their stones, the two gems shot out a beam of light into the darkness.

"This looks like a good enough lead." said Rouge. She and Falcon began walking in the direction of where the beams were shining towards.

After what seemed like forever, the pair finally come to where the light beams ended. The beams were stopped at a single point, but then they noticed three other beams from different directions were also joined on the same point.

"Huh? Where are those lights coming from?" wondered Falcon.

"Falcon? Rouge?"

The two in question were surprised to hear a voice calling their names. Coming out of the darkness were three people.

The first was a teenage girl in traditional Japanese garb consisting of a short green yukata with yellow cloud prints that stopped high above her knees, red bandage wraps around her shins with brown straw sandals on her feet, and red bracers with handguards on her arms. Her dark blue hair was tied in a thick bun behind her head with a gold hairband. In her hand was a blue Power Stone.

The second was a samurai wearing a blue gi and hakama ensemble with a yellow spotted vest and green travel pack. He wore iron geta sandals, yellow samurai armguards, and his long black hair was done up in a topknot ponytail. At his hip were two katana blades of different lengths, one in a black scabbard, and the long one a red scabbard. He held in his hand a yellow Power Stone.

The third was a young man dressed in kung fu attire consisting of a white short-sleeved shirt with a yellow sash, brown pants and kung fu shoes, and white bandage bracers. His black hair was tied in a small braid. He was holding a green Power Stone.

Falcon and Rouge recognized the people as they were also present during the incidents with Kraken, Valgas, and Dr. Erode. They along with others helped to take down the three villains.

"Ayame? Ryoma? Wang Tang?" said Falcon.

"You people are here, too?" asked Wang Tang.

"It would seem fate has drawn us together again." said Ryoma.

"Finally! I thought I'd never find anybody!" said Ayame in relief.

"The Power Stones are indeed mysterious treasures." said Rouge.

"Still, though, how did we even get here?" asked Wang Tang.

"Never mind that! I just want to know how to get out of here!" said Ayame.

"Perhaps we could use these." said Ryoma as he held out his Power Stone. It and everyone else's stones began to glow in response to their close proximity to each other.

"Hmmm… maybe with other stones here, I can try to see if I can forsee anything else." said Rouge. She holds up her Power Stone and uses it like a crystal ball. After a few moments, the fortune teller's eyes widened as she gasped.

"Rouge? What is it?" asked Falcon.

"I… I see an eternal darkness… it enveloped the world and..." Rouge stopped as she sensed something else. "No! Not just the world! In fact, it affects all of reality itself!"

"What!?" said Ayame.

"Surely that can't be true, right?" said Wang Tang. "After all, we've experienced this sort of thing before."

"No… nothing like this..." said Rouge. "Whatever this is, is bigger than any of us. We cannot possibly contend with this by ourselves."

"Well, what else do you see?" asked Ryoma.

Rouge continues to probe her Power Stone. "Millions of lives being literally scattered… also a great war of survival..."

"That… can't be good..." said Wang Tang.

"Did we win?" asked Ayame.

"I don't know. That part is barred to me." replied Rouge.

"Okay, but more importantly, do you see us leaving this place finally?" asked Falcon.

"Well… I can see a sinking darkness..."

"Wait… sinking darkness?" said Ryoma.

Suddenly, the ground below them turned black and softened to the consistency of quicksand.

"Ahhh! What is this!?" shouted Ayame.

"By any chance, is this the sinking darkness you were referring to?" asked Wang Tang.

"It would appear so!" replied Rouge.

"This was not what I had in mind!" said Ryoma.

Before long, all five Power Stone bearers disappeared into the dark portal.

Metro City, future time…

The Commando Team, Bounty Hunters, and Strider Hiryu arrived at the center of the now deserted wreck of Metro City, having witnessed the unnatural phenomena of people dissolving right before their eyes.

"What on Earth…?" said Cyber Blue in shock.

"How could this have happened…?" said Yellow Iris as she held her hand over her mouth.

Captain Commando surveyed the area, using his Captain Shades to scan for any life. "There've got to be survivors…"

They all walked down the destroyed streets, looking around at the wreckages. From within an empty building, something skitters by. Cyber Blue caught the movement from the corner of his eye and reflexively shot a beam from his fist at the building wall, getting the attention of the others.

"Cyber Blue? What are you doing?" asked Yellow Iris as Finn chittered on her shoulder.

"Thought I saw something move back there, something not human..." replied Cyber Blue.

Sho suddenly grabbed at his ninjato sword. "Hiryu, you felt it, too?"

Strider Hiryu readied his Cypher Blade. "Yes. Brace yourselves..."

Everyone got tense as they could hear the telltale sounds of skittering. Suddenly, demonic-looking humanoid monsters with clawed hands crawled out of the woodwork. The group was soon surrounded on all sides by hoardes of the claw hands.

"What…?" said Hoover.

Jennety silently gripped his knives as he got into a stance.

"I liked it better when it was deserted." said Yellow Iris as she readied her claws.

"Be prepared for anything." said Captain Commando as he clenched his fists.

That was when the clawhands attacked.

"CAPTAIN FIRE!"

Captain Commando punched forth, firing a gout of flame that toasted three claw hands. Everyone sprang into action.

Following his initial attack, Captain Commando knocked back a clawhand with a flying kick, then uppercuts another with a flame-charged fist. He lashed out with a hand and grabbed a clawhand before gut-punching it, which he then electrifies his fist, running a strong current through the monster before kicking it away into other, who get electrocuted in turn.

Cyber Blue rushed forth and scorched more clawhands with his Burning Heel Kick. He then gets up and punches another clawhand with a charging straight. Turning, Cyber Blue held his fist out and fired his Cyber Cannon beam. Cyber Blue rushed at two clawhands and knocked them both up into the air with his Hyper Tornado attack.

Yellow Iris lashed out with her whip to take down two clawhands before her. Behind her, Finn charges up, emitting a flaming aura before charging through a line of clawhands while igniting them on fire. Suddenly, Yellow Iris split into three copies and she knocked three clawhands into the air with a rising scratch attack as she went into her Aerial Dance, throwing out slashes and kicks on her rise and descent, her copies mimicing her actions.

Sho moved at high speed as he slashed at the clawhands with his ninjato, slicing them in two, then threw a smoke pellet that exploded in a small group of them, causing them to get blown upwards where he quickly sliced them in twain midair. Jennety stabbed and slashed with his special knives, causing them to crumble. He then went into a top spin as he slashed at more clawhands. Hoover punched a hole through two clawhands with a drill punch from his mechsuit. He took out more clawhands with robo-punches before firing a missile from his suit's hidden launcher in its knee, blowing more up.

Strider Hiryu darted around, slicing any clawhand he passes in two or more with his Cypher Blade. He slashed horizontally at three clawhands, separating them from their torsos. A clawhand that tried to jump at Hiryu wound up getting bisected down the middle. Hiryu then jumped and rocketed forward with his sword out, beheading four clawhands on the pass.

"Captain! There's just no end to them!" said Hoover as he punched out a clawhand.

"Keep fighting! We can't allow ourselves to get overwhelmed here!" said Captain Commando after burning another clawhand with a flame blast.

More of the clawhands appeared before the group of fighters as they prepared for another wave. Suddenly, a barrage of missiles shot out and impacted against the clawhand horde, taking out a good number of them.

"CYCLO-O-O-ONE!"

Following the shout, a flaming tornado tore right through the throngs of clawhands, sending them flying and scorching along the way.

"What the?" started Cyber Blue.

The flaming tornado dissipated to reveal a man with short brown hair wearing a white fullbody pilot flightsuit with spiky shoulderguards. He wore a white billowing scarf around his neck and a long bandanna on his head.

A clawhand tries to blindside the man from behind, but it gets stomped flat by a big green robot. In actuality, it was a mechsuit not unlike Hoover's, but with a glass-domed cockpit. Inside was a lightly tan-skinned teenage girl with long wavy pale green hair, who was also naked save for a techno collar around her neck.

"Jin! Don't be reckless!" said the girl in the mechsuit.

"Relax, Arieta. I can handle myself, you know." said Jin.

Nearby, several more clawhands suddenly get sliced apart as two people appeared in front of them. One was a man with short dark brown hair wearing a black sleeveless fullbody suit with a white torn-sleeved shirt, red shoes, black fingerless gloves, and a thick white forehead protector. He held in his hand a sword with a light green shaft of light for a blade.

The other was a woman with brown hair done up in two buns that seem to stick upwards like a pair of antennae wearing an elaborate pink Chinese-style dress with open shoulder flared sleeves and a very short skirt showing off white knee-high boots with extended knee guards. She held what looked like a ring of light in her hand.

"It's great fighting alongside you, Hayato!"

"When we're together, June, we're unstoppable!"

A clawhand was suddenly grabbed by the head by what looked like robotic hand on a cable. It was swung around and slammed into more of its brethren. Dropping onto the street was a man with brown hair done up in dreadlocks wearing a green tank top with gray pants and full metal boots. What was striking was that his left arm was completely robotic, or bionic in his case.

"You can't outrun my arm!" said the man known as Nathan "RAD" Spencer.

"Hey! Whoever you people are, thanks for the assistance!" shouted Captain Commando.

The five newcomers noticed each other and Captain's group.

"Oh! There are others here!" said Arieta.

"Well if they're not these freaks, they should be fine." said Spencer.

"Talk later! We need to take care of these things!" said Hayato as he and June continued fighting.

"Point taken!" said Jin.

"At least they're on our side!" said Yellow Iris.

The group of fighters continued to fight off the hordes of clawhands, which didn't look to end anytime soon. After another minute of carnage, huge laser blasts shot out, destroying a mass amount of the clawhands. More shot out, severely reducing the monsters' numbers. Looking up, everyone saw the source of the shots to be a flying ship. Seeing the ship, the remaining clawhands quickly dispersed until only the group of fighters remained.

"Whoa, that's some backup." said Cyber Blue. Jennety could only tilt his head.

"Wait… this ship is..." said Captain Commando.

Everyone gathered before the ship as it landed. The loading bay door opened to reveal two individuals.

"Thank goodness we made it in time."

"X? Zero?"

X and Zero looked to who had addressed them.

"Captain Commando?"

To be continued…

Man, this was a chore to do. More crews get brought together, but nothing has been revealed yet. What will happen next? Read and review, please!


	7. More Odd Meetings

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 6: More Odd Meetings

Kanzaki Estate…

Sakura and the others weren't able to believe what they had just witnessed. Just mere moments ago, they had seen people just disintegrating into dust in the wind, including family and friends.

"This… has become much bigger than I could ever imagine..." said Dhalsim.

"Bigger!? I just lost my family!" shouted Ken.

"Calm down, Ken!" said Guile. "I lost mine as well, so I can sympathize, but we need to have a clear head on this."

"Sean..." said Laura.

"Mama… what happened to mama?" said Blanka, now worried for his mother, who might have met the same fate as all these people. Dhalsim also feared for the safety of his wife and son. Alex couldn't help but think about his own adopted family, Tom and Patricia.

Ken looked down in shame. "I'm sorry. I've forgotten I'm not the only one in pain here..."

"It's fine, Ken. It's only natural you'd react that way." said Chun Li.

"So what is our next move?" asked Sagat.

That was when Ryu's danger sense went off.

"We've got trouble." said Ryu as he took a fighting stance.

Suddenly, shadows formed on the floor, which then elongated to take the shape of humanoid beings. A huge number of the creatures appeared before them, but what got their attention was that their hands suddenly shaped themselves into what looked like spiked mace heads.

"What… are they…?" asked Cammy.

"They don't look human..." said Elena.

"I have a feeling they're not here to say hello." said Ibuki as she tensed up.

"I don't care!" said R. Mika. "I've got a lot of pent up stress and I need to take it out! These things will suffice!"

"Damn straight!" said Ken as he got into a stance. "Whatever you guys are, you caught us all in a really bad mood!"

One of the macehands lunged at Ken with a hand reared back, but was immediately kicked away.

"Big mistake!" said Ken as he and the others charged.

"Looks like there's no choice." said Elena. In an instant, she threw off her clothes and shoes, now clad in her tribal capoeira wear which could only be described as a white thong bikini with multi-colored bands around her shins, wrists, upper arms, and neck.

It soon became a free-for-all.

Ryu knocked a macehand back with a punch then struck another with a spinning reverse roundhouse kick. He side-stepped a macehand's attack and hit it with a body blow before slamming it into the floor with a judo throw then nails another one with an uppercut. Ryu then cupped his hands to his sides as he focused his ki before thrusting his hands out.

"HADOU-KEN!"

A blue ki projectile was launched from Ryu's hands, taking out three macehands as it impacted hard on them.

Ken struck down a macehand with a jumping spin kick before sending another flying with an uppercut. He then grabbed a nearby macehand and knee kicked it a few times before kicking it away. Turning, Ken punched a macehand in the face followed by a kick in its gut. He managed to duck another macehand's attack in time where he took it down with a foot sweep and gave it a downward punch in its face to make it stay down. Two more macehands charged at Ken, who then twisted his body before launching himself at them.

"TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!"

The two macehands were taken out by the rapid spinning kick.

Chun Li nails a macehand in the head with a spin kick when another one comes at her but was knocked away by a high kick. She then flips over a macehand's punch where she then kicked it in the back of its head. Then Chun Li dodges another macehand's attack before hitting it with a double palm thrust, knocking it back. She cartwheeled forward and brought her heel down on another macehand's head. A macehand tries to get her from behind, but Chun Li brought her hands back and thrust them out at its chest.

"KIKOKEN!"

The macehand was blasted back by Chun Li's ki projectile fired at point blank.

Guile knocked down a macehand with a hard straight punch, spun around to hit another down with a spinning backfist, then followed up with taking down a third with a jumping spinning back kick. The next macehand gets hit with a lunging knee kick followed by a front kick to down it. Guile weaved around another macehand's attack to get in behind where he grabbed it and slammed it into the floor with a German suplex. Quickly getting up, Guile hits an incoming macehand with a spinning high kick before throwing his fists back.

"SONIC BOOM!"

Swinging his fists forward, Guile fired off his boomerang-like ki projectile at a macehand, taking it down.

Cammy knocked down a macehand with a jumping spinning backfist then gave a high kick to the next. She doubled over to duck a swipe at her head where she went into a handstand and kicked upwards with both feet at the offending macehand. Once it was down, Cammy jumped at another macehand where she wrapped her legs around its neck then flipped backward into her frankensteiner, slamming it into the floor. Bouncing back onto her feet, she then ran towards three more macehands charging at her,

"SPIRAL ARROW!"

Cammy shot herself forward feetfirst while spinning her body, plowing through the macehands.

Blanka let out a roar as he scratched down at a macehand then delivered a drop kick to another that slammed it into the wall. He looked up to see five macehands jump and dogpile him. However, moments after getting engulfed by them, a yellow flash caused the macehands to get blown back after being subjected to over a hundred volts from Blanka's electrical discharge.

Dhalsim threw a stretching punch at a macehand seven feet away from him while giving a stretching kick to another in the opposite direction. He suddenly vanished from view just before a macehand destroyed the ground he was on a moment ago. Just as quickly, Dhalsim reappeared above the macehand and dove into it feetfirst in a drill kick. He give a double fist stretching punch into the chest of a macehand and a stretching spinning roundhouse that took down two more. Dhalsim's upper body suddenly swelled up as he inhaled some air.

"YOGA FIRE!"

A searing fireball was spat out of Dhalsim's mouth which enflamed a macehand.

Sakura struck down a macehand with a spinning overhead kick then laced her fingers together to give a double fist swing punch to another. She grabs a nearby macehand and kicks herself off of it then comes down on another with a double chop. Turning, Sakura delivered an upperkick to the jaw of a macehand knocking it back before bringing her hands to her side to focus her ki.

"HADOU-KEN!"

Imitating her master's technique, Sakura shot a ki blast that struck the macehand before her.

Alex gave a hard overhead punch on a macehand's head, slamming it into the floor then lariat punches the next behind it. He jumps to deliver a drop kick to a macehand rushing at him. Getting up, Alex grabs a macehand and hurls it into two more, knocking them over like bowling pins, then charged forth to floor another macehand with a hooking elbow strike.

Ibuki took down a macehand coming at her with a jumping axe kick then flash stepped to get behind another where she hit it with an elbow strike into a backfist. She gives a high spinning reverse roundhouse kick at a macehand's head, knocking it to the side, then jumps up to stomp on the next macehand's head before springboarding off of it where Ibuki threw out three kunais that each scored a headshot on those before her.

Elena lashed out with a spinning kick followed by a body thrust kick that took out two macehands. She suddenly does a handstand and kicks at the next macehand over its head before launching herself into a flying kick at another. When she gets surrounded by three macehands, Elena ducked down and lashed out with her long legs while holding herself up with her hands, taking them out with what looked like a break dance.

Laura did an elbow hook to elbow uppercut on a macehand then gave a lunging kick at a second one. She jumped forward to nail a third macehand with a vertical reverse spin kick then quickly foot sweeped another and hit it with a palm strike before it hit the ground. Then Laura grabbed a nearby macehand and put it in a jujitsu hold before slamming it into the floor. Laura stood up and held her hand behind her head where electricity began to gather.

"THUNDER CLAP!"

She thrust her hand forward, firing a slow arc of electricity that electrocuted the macehand in front of her which she quickly kicked away.

Rainbow Mika ran forward and caught a macehand by the throat with a running western lariat before going into a drop kick on the next one. Flipping back on her feet, Mika jumps at another macehand, hitting it in the face with a jumping hook punch She jumped back in time to avoid a macehand trying to bellyflop on her, which she then jumped on with a double dropping knee. Mika then low kicks a macehand causing it to trip, then quickly grabbed it by its legs where she put it in a giant swing, batting away two more nearby macehands before throwing it away.

Sagat delivered a fierce punch at a macehand's face, knocking it down, then gave a hard body blow kick to another. Due to his height, Sagat managed to pluck a macehand jumping at him out of the air before knee kicking it three times in rapid succession, the third blow sending it brought his elbow down on the head of a macehand, dropping it like a rock, then reared both fists back.

"TIGER!"

Sagat punched both fists forward as he fired a crescent-shaped ki projectile that took out three more macehands.

Finally, all the strange creatures had been dealt with.

"Well that was a good workout." said Alex as he rotated his arm.

"Where did they even come from?" asked Cammy.

"These creatures… they don't seem to be of this world." said Dhalsim.

"So what are you saying? That they're aliens?" asked Ibuki.

"G'huh!? Aliens!?" said Blanka in shock.

"That wouldn't be too far off, actually." replied Dhalsim.

"It troubles me how these things appeared sometime after everyone else vanished..." said Chun Li.

"You suppose there's a connection?" asked Ken.

"She's got a point. It's too much of a coincidence." added Guile.

Elena looked at all the beaten bodies of the macehands they've all defeated and was taken by surprise by what happened next. "Hey! What's happening?"

Everyone looked to the African girl and also became surprised when they saw the macehands melt away into the ground, erasing any trace of their existence.

"Okay… that's not natural..." said R. Mika.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Sagat.

Ryu looked out towards the sky. "We follow Rose's request." Everyone turned to the world-traveling martial artist. "She said the source may be at Shadaloo's old island base."

"It's a good plan, but how are we supposed to get there?" asked Laura.

Ryu then looked to Sakura. "Sakura. I noticed Karin tossed something to you before she vanished. What was it?"

Sakura gasped as she had forgotten about it due to the fight they were in. "Oh right!" She pulled out the key she had. "It looks like a key to a vehicle, judging from the tag."

"May I see that?" asked Guile.

Sakura gave Guile the key. He glanced at it and seemed to recognize where it goes to. "Everyone, let's head for the estate's garage."

Sometime later, the group of street fighters arrived at the large garage of the Kanzaki Estate. Inside were many sportscars and other large vehicles, even small planes.

"Man, she's got serious wheels in here." said Ken.

"No kidding…" said Ibuki.

"Must be nice to have money." said Laura.

"So which of these vehicles does the key belong to?" asked Dhalsim.

Guile scanned the area until he came across a certain vessel.

"It's for… that."

Everyone gathered behind Guile and looked in awe at the vehicle.

"Is this girl crazy-prepared or what?" said Blanka.

Unknown place…

It was a dark and barren landscape, where everything was dead or decaying. Rock jutted out of the ground and patches of blackened grass littered the area. The sky was a dark purple with black clouds that occasionally thundered. To add to it, there were bones and corpses scattered about, most looked non-human.

This would normally be a sight most people wouldn't be able to stomach. For the lone man walking the barren wasteland, it was all too familiar for his liking. He continued on his way, his silver armor glinting in the moonlight.

Arthur didn't know how long he had been going through this unknown land ever since he got swallowed by that black blobbish substance, just after witnessing what had happened in his kingdom, but to him, it felt like a lifetime. He didn't want to think his kingdom and his Queen Prin Prin were gone, clinging to any hope of undoing what had happened. Still, it was nothing like how Arthur had braved through the Demon World multiple times to rescue his beloved in the past.

Unsurprisingly, when Arthur touched down in this strange land, he had been accosted by its demonic denizens. Arthur was no stranger to being attacked by monsters and responded in his usual way of fighting them off with his assorted armory. He's just glad the Goddess Bracelet he holds within himself also granted him an infinite amount of weapons for him to materialize and throw. Any monsters he came across would be met with a barrage of lances, arrows, daggers, axes, sickles, and torches.

"Please wait for me, my Queen..." said Arthur. "I will not rest until I can restore you and our kingdom..."

Arthur then stops when he heard sounds before him. Suddenly, ten monsters appeared, blocking his path. They appear to be disgusting humanoid ant monsters with sharpened claws and small wings on their back. Their enlarged grotesque heads resembled that of an ant with large pincer mouths and multiple short spikes coming out of their heads like hairs. Upon closer inspection, Arthur couldn't help but gag when he noticed the heads of each of these monsters looked like a combination of three human heads.

"What manner of beasts are these?" asked Arthur. He didn't have time to ponder it further as he leapt back before one of the monster took a swipe at him. "No matter! Have at you!"

Arthur threw three daggers in rapid succession at the attacking monsters head, killing it. The next monster was met with a thrown lance right through its torso. The third monster jumped at Arthur, who quickly shot it down with a double arrow from his crossbow. Dodging a swipe from the fourth monster, Arthur counter with his broadsword, slicing its arm off before stabbing it through its head. Without missing a beat, Arthur took out and threw a sickle that boomeranged around to take down two more of the monsters. He then took out a holy torch and crashed it into a line of three more monster who writhed after getting burned by the holy flames. Finally, Arthur throws an axe that smashed right into the last monster's head.

"No different from the monsters I usually fight back home, but they're more troublesome..." said Arthur. Up until now, he had been fighting off familiar monsters that attacked him since arriving in this place, but this group was a new one for him. They looked a lot more horrifying for starters, but luckily Arthur wasn't that easily scared.

The silver armored knight had no time to rest, though, as suddenly more of the ant monsters appeared, burrowing out from the ground. They were a bit larger than the last batch and numbered at least fifty. Arthur cursed under his breath at the odds clearly stacked against him.

"This doesn't look good, but I must persevere..." said Arthur as he made ready with his lance.

To the knight's surprise, several of the ant monster got diced to bloody pieces after getting engulfed by a light blue globe of light followed by the distinct sounds of sword slashes that vanished the moment it appeared. What Arthur saw next he could only discern as a blue blur followed by several flashes of sword swings. The blur stopped to reveal a man with his back turned as he sheathed his weapon, a long katana. As soon as the sword clicked into its scabbard, the monsters behind him fell apart into bloody chunks.

The man turned to look at his handiwork with a disappointed gaze. He had pale skin with white slicked back hair, wearing dark brown boots and fingerless gloves, black pants, and a dark blue layered vest. He also sported a long dark blue coat with three coattails and white serpentine patterns on the sleeves. In his hand was a white-handled katana in a black scabbard with a yellow tie on it.

"Hmph… weaklings..." said the man.

Arthur was shocked at the casual way this man killed the ant monsters. Before he could say anything, another monster tried to blindside him, but was shot out of the air. This was followed by a spectral blue demonic arm stretching out to grab another, crushing its head before slamming it to the ground. Another young man blurred in, slashing down more of the ant monsters with a large single-edged sword with some kind of mechanism built into the hilt.

"Hey old man! Don't get carried away and save some for me!" said the young man. Like the older man, he had white hair but shorter, wearing a tattered dark red shirt, black pants with combat boots, and a dark blue hooded jacket with the sleeves folded. He had a black fingerless glove on his left hand.

"Then I suggest you start catching up, Nero." said the katana-wielding man. He hits another monster in the head with the scabbard before drawing the katana to slice it in twain then stabbing it into another behind him. Several blue spectral swords appeared on either side of the man, who then shot the swords into more of the monsters. Next, he swung his katana with an inhuman speed that his arm looked like a blur as he rapidly sliced apart ten more monsters.

"Whatever!" said the one called Nero. He cut a swath trough the monster horde with his large sword, which he handled with just his left hand. Nero then twirls out a large double-barrel revolver and shot at more of the ant monsters, scoring headshots on all of them. One monster that got too close for comfort was shot point-blank in the face, blowing it back. He jumps up to dodge an ant monster's attack, coming down on it with a downward stab with his sword. With the sword still stabbed into it, Nero activates the mechanism in the handle, causing the blade to glow red, then suddenly took off riding the impaled monster like a motorized scooter, ramming through more of its kin

Arthur could only watch the spectacle in stunned silence as he never witnessed such a sight before.

'_I've never seen such a form of fighting before...'_ thought Arthur.

The silver knight was snapped out of his daze at a loud sound heading their way. He was taken even more by surprise when a modified RV suddenly flew through the air and crushed three ant monsters on landing. One was unfortunate enough to have its face grinded off under one of the RV's rear tires as it drove off to slam the remaining ones to death. It skids to a stop near the two white-haired men, showing a light blue neon sign on the side of the vehicle reading 'Devil May Cry'. The door opens, and out comes a young tanned-skinned woman with red-framed glasses and black wavy hair done up in a wild ponytail held by a plaited hairband. She wore brown cowboy boots, blue shot cutoff jean shorts, and a short yellow sleeveless buttoned jacket top that bared her midriff. The striking thing about her was that she had numerous tattoos on her arms, right thigh, and around her stomach.

"Nero! Vergil! You guys are real impatient, you know that?" said the woman.

"Sorry, Nico, but it's not my fault." said Nero before looking over to Vergil. "He's the one who went off on his own."

"It's not my fault you people are slow." said Vergil as he ran his hand through his hair.

"My word! I've never seen such prowess!" said Arthur.

The trio finally noticed the armored knight.

"Huh? A human down here?" said Vergil.

"Hey! You're right!" said Nico. "First one we've seen who isn't one of those freaks frequenting this place, anyway."

"You all right, buddy?" asked Nero.

"I'm quite fine, young man." replied Arthur. "You dress in strange garbs. Are you all knights as well?"

"Uh… something like that..." replied Nero, recalling his time as once being part of the Order of the Sword. Vergil thinks about his status as being the son of the legendary Dark Knight, Sparda.

"Well it's good to meet a fellow warrior! I've been accosted by monsters ever since I've arrived in this place! You're the first humans I've seen in what seemed like forever!" Nero could only give a light chuckle while Vergil gives off a low grunt. "Oh! Where are my manners My name is Arthur. And you are?"

"I'm Nero. This is Nico, and he's Vergil."

"Well. Sir Nero, Sir Vergil, Lady Nico, it is nice to meet you, and I thank you for coming when you did. I wasn't sure I could've handled another wave of those strange monsters." said Arthur.

"Please, just Nero is fine. I don't care much for formalities."

"Yeah, same here, honey." added Nico.

"Formalities are useless." said Vergil.

"Well if you insist so." said Arthur before turning to look at the RV. "By the way, what manner of chariot is this? It's not pulled by horses?"

"What? You've never seen an RV before?" asked Nico.

"R… V…?"

Streets of Japan, present day…

The streets were devoid of life, with a few cars littered about. A grunt was heard as a humanoid blob with hammerheads for hands was knocked to the ground, dissolving into nothing a moment later. A city bus was driving down the road as it avoided any abandoned cars in the way. Inside were the teachers of Justice High and the students of Taiyo and Pacific. Some time ago they managed to find the empty city bus with the keys still in the ignition and decided to make use of it. In any case, no one else in the area could.

Hideo was currently at the wheel with Kyoko sitting directly behind him. Sitting in the other seats nearby were Batsu, Hinata, Roy, and Tiffany.

"Dammit! We haven't seen a single person aside from these freaks!" said Batsu in frustration.

"It really does feel like we're in a zombie apocalypse!" said Tiffany.

"It's been nearly an hour since we left the stadium, too." said Roy.

"Well I'm just glad we came across this bus." said Hinata. "We were able to use this as a moving shield."

Kyoko looked out the windows, seeing the occasional humanoid blob they've fought before wandering about. "So what's the plan, Hideo? Do we have a set destination?"

"I honestly don't know, Kyoko." replied Hideo. "Going by the assumption that this will be like everywhere else, it feels it doesn't matter where we head to. All we can do is hope we run into someone human sooner or later."

"Not sugar-coating it at all, are you?"

"I'm just being realistic here."

POW!

The whole bus jerked at the loud noise, causing everyone to be jolted around before grabbing on to something.

"Hey! What just happened!?" asked Tiffany.

"Oh no! One of the tires must've blown out!" said Hideo as he tried to keep control of the bus. The large vehicle swerved around a bit before skidding to a stop.

"Is everyone all right?" asked Kyoko in concern for the four students.

"Ugh… I guess so..." replied Roy before turning to Tiffany. "You, Tiffany?"

"A bit shaken, but fine..." said Tiffany.

"Damn! That took me by surprise!" said Batsu.

"Well, it was good while it lasted..." said Hinata.

Everyone exited the bus and saw that one of the tires was indeed blown out, making it useless to drive without a replacement, which unfortunately won't be getting anytime soon.

"Just our luck..." muttered Roy.

"Looks like we're on foot from here." said Batsu.

A humanoid blob lingered out from behind the corner of the bus. Roy punched it out in annoyance where the blob dissipated upon falling to the ground.

"And whatever these things are still wandering about somewhere." said Roy as he flexed his hand.

"Well everyone, we'd better get a move on before anything else happens." said Hideo.

No sooner than he had said that, something that looked like a black portal appeared ten feet off the ground some distance ahead of them.

"Huh? What is that?" asked Hinata.

"You… don't suppose more of those things will come out of there, do you?" asked Tiffany.

Everyone winced when they heard that and reflexively got into fighting stances to prepare for what might come out. What came out was something they didn't expect.

From out of the hole in the air, some screams were heard as a small group fell onto the ground just before the hole vanished. There were five people in all, dressed in clothes that looked to be from the 19th century. The sudden visitors slowly stood up after their fall. From the students' and teachers' viewpoint, they appeared to be a pilot, a belly dancer, a samurai, a yukata girl, and a kung fu practitioner.

"Man, I thought we were gonna die!" said Falcon.

"Well at least we're out from that dark place." said Ryoma.

"But we've wound up somewhere strange." said Ayame as she looked about the deserted city they found themselves in.

"Rouge, do you know where we are?" asked Wang Tang.

"I'm not sure, but I can tell you this isn't in our time or even our world." replied Rouge.

"Wait, what?" said Falcon in shock.

"Hey!"

The five Power Stone users turned to the voice and saw the group of students and teachers.

"Are you all human?" asked Batsu.

"Huh? People?" said Ayame.

"So you are, aren't you?" said Kyoko.

"Despite the fact you all literally fell out of the sky." said Tiffany.

"That's… a bit hard to explain..." said Falcon. "Ahem! In any case, I'm called Falcon."

"I am Rouge."

"Ryoma."

"Name's Ayame."

"Call me Wang Tang."

"So then who are you guys?" asked Falcon.

"Well then, my name is Hideo, and this is my wife, Kyoko."

"Hello."

"And these young ones are students we're acquainted with." said Hideo as he gestured to them. "Batsu, Hinata, Roy, and Tiffany."

"Well its good to see someone who ISN'T one of those blob freaks." said Batsu.

"Wait, you fought them, too?" asked Ayame.

"Huh? You also..." asked Roy.

Before they could ask any further, they all heard some snarling sounds. Looking about, they saw more of the humanoid blob shadow monsters rising up. The group was soon surrounded by the creatures, about thirty in all. Half of them had sharpened points for hands while the other half had what looked like crab pincers for hands.

"Are these what you were talking about?" asked Tiffany.

"Sort of, but their 'weapons' are different here." replied Ryoma.

Everyone braced themselves for the fight about to happen.

"I guess there's no choice, is there?" asked Hinata.

"Everyone, be careful." said Kyoko as she held her pamphlet.

That was when the spearhands and pincerhands attacked.

Batsu sidestepped a spearhand that tried to stab him before counter-punching it away. He then delivers a spin kick at a pincerhand's head, knocking it down, then uppercuts another back. The Taiyo student ran and plowed into three spearhands with a flying kick then kicks up a pincerhand into the air before jumping up and punching it down at a spearhand below it.

Hinata ducks a pincerhand's swipe and tripped it with a spinning foot sweep then quickly stood up to axe-kick it in its chest. She jumped up to avoid a stab from a spearhand and stomped on its head before leaping to another with a flying hammer fist punch. Upon landing, Hinata knocked away a pincherhand with a double fist punch then turned to side kick a spearhand in its gut, knocking it down.

Roy knocked down two pincerhands and a spearhand with a running shoulder charge then backfists another spearhand away. He grabs at a pincer hand and knees it in the gut, causing it to double over before flooring it with a hammer punch. Next, he turned to front kick a spearhand away, knocking it into another.

Tiffany nails a pincerhand in the head with a hard right cross followed by a shoulder charge. She then delivers a reverse spin kick at a spearhand's head, then rushes into a charging uppercut on a pincerhand. A nearby pincerhand tries to take a swipe at Tiffany's head, but she quickly did the splits, dodging the attack before quickly countering with an upperkick. The cheerleader weaved in and out from a spearhand's attack then threw a left hook right straight combo to down it, followed by a back cartwheel kick at another spearhand that tried to jump her.

Hideo parried a stab from a spearhand then struck it in the head with a high kick. He delivered a backfist punch to a pincerhand behind him, then jumped forward with an axe kick right on another's head. Hideo then sidesteps a spearhand's thrust before quickly grabbing it by the wrist and shoulder throwing it into a pincerhand. Another pincerhand leapt at the language teacher, who knocked it out of the air with an uppercut.

Kyoko sidestepped a pincerhand's attack before smashing it in the head with the edge of her pamphlet. She hopped forward to give a hard side kick into the gut of a spearhand, knocking it into another. Another spearhand gets knocked up into the air with a rising knee followed by an axe kick, knocking it into the ground. Kyoko does a flip over a pincerhand, landing behind it where she grabs it by the neck and kicks into its back, breaking it. She spun around and knocked down a spearhand with a spinning roundhouse kick to its head.

Falcon knocked down a spearhand with a dashing straight punch, then dodged a swipe from a pincerhand before hitting it with a hard right cross to the face. Another spearhand stabbed out at Falcon rapidly, who weaved in and out to avoid the strikes then drew in close to take it down with two body blows. Falcon jumped to avoid a swipe from a pincerhand where he stomped down on its head with both feet on landing, then jumped forward into a flying kick at a spearhand. He sidestepped another spearhand before doing a spinning low kick that knocked its legs out from under it then punched it into the ground before it could fall.

Rouge twirled out of the way from a pincerhand's attack and lashed out with a flame kick to knock it back. She jumped back from another's downward strike before holding out her hand and threw a fireball at it. A pincerhand and a spearhand attacked Rouge simultaneously, but she was able to use her bellydancing movements to avoid their attacks then knocked them both away with a spinning flaming kick. Rouge then grabbed a pincerhand by the face and set it on fire before kicking it away into a spearhand.

Ryoma charged with his katana drawn past three spearhands which then fell apart. He turned to use his katana to block a pincerhand's attack then kicked it away before slicing it in twain. Without looking, Ryoma stabbed his katana being him, impaling another pincerhand that tried to blindside him. Pulling the blade out, he stabbed at a spearhand in front of him before kicking it off the blade. Then Ryoma jumped to bring his katana down on a nearby pincerhand, downing it for good.

Ayame whipped out a kunai in each hand and cross-slashed at a spearhand. She backhand slashed at a pincerhand followed by a spinning roundhouse to knock it back. Then Ayame flipped upward before coming down on a spearhand's head with a double foot stomp. Not moving from her spot, she sees two spearhands and a pincerhand charging at her, but the circus kunoichi downs them with headshots from thrown shurikens.

Wang Tang struck a pincerhand with a charging elbow strike going into a punch. He knocked back a spearhand with a quick triple punch combo, then hop kicked another into a wrecked car. Wang Tang knocked out a jumping pincerhand out of the air with a jumping flip kick, then upon landing struck a spearhand away with a double palm strike. Seeing another spearhand charging at him, Wang Tang leapt forward and knocked it out with a flying dragon kick.

Finally, all the humanoid blobs were defeated as the group stood victorious yet a bit winded.

"Yeah! How do you like that, you freaks!?" shouted Batsu.

"Yeah! What he said!" added Falcon.

Like before, the creatures melted away into the ground.

"Whew… I'm glad that's over..." said Hinata.

"I have to agree." said Ayame. "You all fight well."

"Yeah, same to you guys!" said Tiffany.

"I have to say, this is a strange world." said Ryoma as he sheathed his katana.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" asked Roy.

"It's just things look more… advanced here." said Rouge.

"Well, it's the 21st Century." said Hideo.

"Wait, what?" asked Wang Tang. "It's the 19th where we're from!"

"Hold on, did you say 19th Century?" asked Kyoko.

"Well that would explain their appearances..." said Batsu.

"No way… did we fall through time?" asked Falcon.

"This gets more interesting by the minute..." said Roy.

"So first nearly all the population vanish, then these weird monsters, now people from the past?" said Tiffany. "Just what is going on!?"

"Wait, what did you just say?" asked Rouge.

"Rouge?" said Falcon.

"Did you just say people vanished!?"

The students and teachers were a bit perturbed at the bellydancer's reaction before slowly nodding.

"Rouge, wasn't that part of your prediction?" asked Wang Tang.

"It's just as I had forseen..." said Rouge.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Batsu.

"Rouge here happens to be a master fortune teller." said Ryoma.

Rouge nods before pulling out her Power Stone.

"Oooh! That's a beautiful jewel!" said Tiffany. Hinata and Kyoko had to agree.

Rouge held her free hand over the Power Stone, causing it to glow and emit the same cryptic images her comrades saw back in the shadow area they were at before.

"What… the hell was that?" asked Batsu.

"What could be all of our futures..." replied Rouge. "Unless we put a stop to it. I'm afraid this incident was only the beginning."

"Hold on! Are you trying to tell us the apocalypse is about to happen?" asked Roy.

"No… it can't be!" said Hinata.

"You mean our friends, our families, and other people, just vanishing was just the start?" asked Kyoko fearfully.

"If that's the case, how are we still here?" asked Hideo.

"Perhaps fate has something in store for us." replied Rouge.

"I don't suppose you can forsee a happy ending in that jewel, do you?" asked Tiffany.

"I'm sorry, but that part is clouded for me."

"In any case, as long as those monsters are around, I think it would be best if we all stuck together." suggested Wang Tang.

"I have to agree." said Ryoma. "We could need all the support we can get."

"Great! The more the merrier, I suppose." said Batsu.

Suddenly, a loud humming was heard followed by a strong wind, grabbing everyone's attention. They looked up to see what looked like a large private passenger jet coming down. It slowly descended to the ground in a harrier jet fashion before the startled group.

"Whoa! I've never seen a plane like that before!" said Falcon.

"Is that… a harrier jet?" said Roy.

Everyone was on guard as the jet touched down and the door opened. Hinata's eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Sakura?"

"Hinata? Is that you?"

To be continued…

So now the crews of Street Fighter, Rival Schools, and Power Stone meet up while Arthur hooks up with the other part of the DMC group.

Next time, we'll have more fun in Makai! Stay tuned!


	8. Hell Breaks Loose in Makai

Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.

Chapter 7: Hell Breaks Loose in Makai

Present day, dark city…

In a narrow street between brick buildings was a certain shop with tall wooden double doors. Unlike its other neighbors, this one was a bit archaic, which contrasted with its bright neon light sign, reading "Devil May Cry". This was the home base and "office" of sorts if one could call it that for Dante the Devil Hunter. Inside looked more like a two-story studio with some sofas, a jukebox, a pool table, and a metal staircase going to the second level. In the back was an ornate desk with an old-style telephone and a mini bar. The most distinctive feature was that the back walls were decorated with numerous Devil Arms Dante had accumulated in his previous jobs.

Currently, Dante sat behind his desk with his feet propped up. Trish sat on the top of the desk on the left and Lady leaned against it at the right. Their "guests" were standing about or seated at the sofas. After the latest debacle, they all decided to gather at Dante's shop to trade information once formal introductions had been made.

"Well, tonight has been interesting, to say the least." said Dante.

"No kidding." said Chris. "First BOWs, then supernatural demons, and now spandex heroes?"

"Hey man! The correct term is Henshin Heroes!" said Joe indignantly. "Don't you ever watch superhero movies, dude?" He looked around the shop in awe. "But man! Such a sweet setup here!"

"Just don't touch anything, Joe." said Silvia.

"I'm still confused about that black substance, though." said Jill. "In my time fighting against bio-terrorism, I've never seen anything like it."

"Still shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, Jill." said Leon. "It's the reason we all didn't get caught in that lab explosion."

"True, but it still worries me."

"And you two actually came from a world where movies are real?" Claire asked Joe and Silvia.

"You got it! And I'm the hero!" said Joe with pride.

"WE'RE the heroes." Silvia corrected.

"I'm having trouble wrapping my head around that." said Frank.

"Sounds like fun." said Trish.

"Guys, something's been bugging me since we got here." said Barry. "Maybe it's just me, but aside from those monsters, didn't the streets seem a bit empty?"

That got the attention of his allies and Frank.

"Hey, now that you mention it..." said Chris.

"I mean, I'm sure the fighting might have attracted someone like the local authorities or something." said Barry.

This got Dante curious as he picked up the phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, the call dropped. He tried several other numbers with the same result.

"Damn! No one's answering..." said Dante as he put the phone down.

"So who were you calling?" asked Leon.

"My usual pizza joints are open at this time, and they're not answering. I was trying to order out."

"Oh man, really? I was getting hungry, too!" said Joe.

Everyone except Trish and Lady nearly face-faulted.

"Typical Dante." said Lady.

"This is pretty alarming..." said Claire. "Is there really no one out there?"

Suddenly, the whole building shook for a second, catching everyone off guard.

"What the hell!?" said Chris. "What was that tremor!?"

Everyone regained their footing as they all shared the same thoughts. Soon after the tremor happened, the interior of the shop suddenly darkened as if a black light illuminated the room.

"Great, now what's happening!?" asked Leon.

Everyone looked about, not daring to breath, but after a minute passed, nothing seemed to be happening. Frank then broke the silence.

"Hey, does anyone feel like we're moving?" asked Frank.

"You mean like a boat?" asked Lady.

"Yeah, it does..." said Chris as Jill and Barry nodded. Chris and Jill knew this feeling during the Queen Xenobia incident and Barry when he took a boat to Sushestvovanie Island to rescue his daughter, Moira.

Trish tried looking out the window, but they're to dirty to see through clearly. "You really need to lean these, Dante."

"Hey, I've been busy!"

Curious, Joe walked over to the door. Taking the knob, he slowly turned it and opened the door. What he saw on the other side completely floored him as he fell backward in shock.

"What is this!?" said Joe, getting everyone's attention.

Silvia, concerned for her beau, quickly ran toward him. "Joe? What's wr-" Her words died in her throat as she saw what was outside the door.

Everyone gathered to where Joe was at and were equally shocked. On the other side of the door was nothing but a huge blackened void. It almost looked as if they were in outer space.

"What in the!?" said Claire.

Frank couldn't help but take a picture of the outside.

"What's going on!?" said Barry.

"There's nothing out here!" said Jill.

"Make way."

Everyone turned to see Dante walking up while grabbing a nearby empty beer bottle from a table. Getting to the edge of the door, he dropped the bottle, which fell into the darkness as if it had been swallowed up in shadows. They all waited, but didn't hear the telltale signs of breaking glass.

"Okay, show's over, people." said Dante as he quickly shut the doors. "I think it would be best if we all stayed inside."

No one argued with that.

"This is just crazy..." said Chris. "What the hell just happened?"

"Well, if I had to hazard a guess, I'd say Dante's shop just got plucked into another dimension." said Trish.

Frank and the Raccoon City survivors turned to look at her in confusion.

"What? Are you serious?" asked Leon.

"It's kind of a thing high level demons can do." said Dante. He thought back to how his brother, Vergil, used his Yamato to slice between dimensions. "Good news is, we're all still alive."

"If you could call this that." said Barry.

"You know, I've seen some movies like this before." said Joe. "Some guy's house got plucked out of existence then found itself in another world."

"Well this is real life, Joe, but even that is questionable at this point." said Frank.

"So what do we do now?" asked Jill.

"Nothing, that's what." said Dante as he went over to lean against the front of his desk. "We're just going to have to play the waiting game for now until we stop moving."

"That's your plan?" asked Chris.

"You got a better idea? Unless you feel like skydiving without a parachute, we're pretty much stuck."

"He's right, Chris. What else can we do?" said Claire.

Chris couldn't refute Dante's point. Going outside right now would be suicide.

"In any case, I need a drink." said Dante as he walked over to the mini bar.

"You know, I could use a cold one myself." said Leon as he followed Dante.

"Same here." said Barry.

Chris could only sigh. "Dammit… give me one, too."

Back at the dark city, the place where the Devil May Cry shop once stood was now nothing but an empty uprooted lot.

Castle Zeltzereich…

Demitri was feeling annoyed at the interruptions to his plans for Makai. It was bad enough he got some unplanned visitors in his castle, but something was apparently happening literally at his doorstep.

"You know, you all don't have to follow me." said Demitri as he looked at everyone following him.

"Hey, I'm interested to know what's going on myself." said Morrigan. "It could be fun."

"Same here." said Felicia. "It's gotten me curious if it has anything to do with what happened in the human world."

"You know what they say about what curiosity did to the cat, kitty."

"Shut up, Morrigan..."

"I'm not too keen on staying by myself in a place I know nothing about." said Maya as she stood close to Phoenix.

"Me, too." added Pearl.

"I'm just curious about the castle, that's all." said Edgeworth. He wouldn't admit out loud he shared the same concerns as Maya and Pearl since that haunted house incident he was involved in. The prosecutor was only lucky that he was hit by a hard prop sword instead of a real one that time or we would've been killed.

"I'd just be bored if I stayed in place." said Cody.

Demitri could only sigh. "Fine. Do what you want."

The vampire noble opened the large double doors leading out into one of the castle's upper courtyards, which was quite spacious and archaic-designed. It was more like a glorified balcony that overlooked more of the castle's exterior below. The skies were cloudy and dark that occasionally flashed purple lightning.

"It's certainly dreary out..." said Phoenix.

"It's standard for Makai." said Morrigan casually.

"Standard, huh?" said Haggar as he looked out at the dark sky.

"If not for the creepy atmosphere, it would be quite a view." said Athena.

Felicia's ears and tail suddenly tensed up as her fur stood on end. "Something's coming..."

Jon, Morrigan, and Demitri also tensed up.

"I can feel it..." said Jon as he looked ahead.

"Hey! Over there!" said Maki as she pointed at the far end of the courtyard.

The ground further down was littered with many shadows gathering together. A moment later, the strange humanoid blobs emerged from the shadows, totaling nearly eighty. Each of them formed a short shaft in both hands resembling kali sticks.

"By any chance, are these the strange creatures you mentioned before?" asked Demitri.

"Yes, but they appear to have a different fighting style this time." replied Jon.

"Well they certainly don't feel native to Makai." said Morrigan.

"I will not have these things make a mess of my castle." said Demitri as he flared his aura, causing the whole castle to flash briefly.

"Huh? What was that just now?" asked Guy.

"A security measure that will keep potential threats from entering. It will dispel once they're dealt with."

"So we just have to take out the trash, huh Sounds simple enough." said Cody as he cracked his knuckles.

"Wait, what!?" said Apollo as he and Athena quickly ran for the door, only to find it not budging. "No! It's locked!"

"We should've stayed inside!" said Athena.

"Hey! You could've said something to them, first! They can't fight!" said Maki in annoyance.

"If you care about them so much, you can protect them yourself." said Demitri without averting his gaze from the humanoid blobs.

Maki gritted her teeth as she looked at Guy, Cody, and Haggar before looking at Phoenix's group. She then looked towards the humanoid blobs and didn't like their chances of dividing attentions between fighting and keeping the civilians safe.

"This doesn't look good… They're just civilians who have been dragged into this mess." said Guy. "Trying to keep them safe will be complicated."

"He's right. They're not fighters. Shouldn't we get them someplace safe?" asked Felicia.

"It's pointless, Felicia. As Demitri said, the castle is on lockdown." said Jon. "Also, what if the rest of the world is like this? There isn't anyplace safe for them."

"Wait! You can't mean that!" said Phoenix. Their friends disintegrated into nothing, but the ones who didn't are trapped in this dangerous situation.

Morrigan then turned to them. "Hmm, so basically, all you need is to keep yourselves safe, right?"

The lawyers and spirit mediums looked at the sultry succubus.

"What? But I can't! I don't know how to fight!" said Phoenix.

"Neither do I." added Edgeworth.

"Actually, I was thinking about those kimono girls there." said Morrigan, catching them by surprise as she looked at the two spirit mediums. "Maya and Pearl, was it?"

"Us!? But we can't fight any more than Nick and the others can!" said Maya in shock.

"Fighting isn't part of our training!" said Pearl, but all things considered, she was beginning to wish it did.

Demitri looked at Morrigan, who was beginning to understand what she was planning. "Morrigan, you are referring to their necklaces…?"

"Exactly." said Morrigan then looked at Maya and Pearl. "Maya, Pearl, I'm going to charge your necklaces with magic."

"Huh? Magic?" asked Pearl in confusion.

"Huh, I feel like we've done this before..." said Phoenix. "Wait! I remember! Didn't you do this before, Pearl?"

"Huh? But that was just to activate its ability to see Psyche-Locks!" said Pearl.

Morrigan smirked. "These Magatamas are quite the special artifacts. You'd be surprised at what they can do. Now, try wishing for power. Go on."

Maya and Pearl looked at each other before looking down at their own Magatamas. What could be the harm in it?

"Uh… I… uh..." said Maya, trying to figure out what to say before blabbing out the first thing that came to mind. "I wish I had the power of the Steel Samurai of Neo Olde Tokyo!"

"Then I wish I had the power of the Pink Princess of Little Olde Tokyo!" said Pearl.

The two then gestured to Phoenix, Edgeworth, Apollo, and Athena. "And we wish they could weaponize their attorney skills and lay out their enemies flat with a loud 'OBJECTION!' !"

The four lawyers couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at what they said.

"Are you sure that's the right way to do it…?" asked Apollo incredulously.

"That'll work. Here you go." said Morrigan as she steped up and touched Maya and Pearl's Magatamas. Once she did, the jeweled beads suddenly started to glow with a green light.

"What the!? What was that!?" asked Maya as she and Pearl looked at their now glowing Magatamas. A moment later, both girls' bodies started to emit a light blue aura.

"The Magatamas are glowing? No, not just that, your bodies are…!" said Phoenix.

"Hey! What's happening!?" asked Athena as her body started emitting a light blue aura.

Phoenix, Edgeworth, and Apollo looked at themselves to see that the same thing was happening to them.

"What? What is this?" asked Edgeworth.

"I see. It's not that she charged them with magic, but expanded their inherent spiritual energies." said Demitri.

The glowing auras ceased around the lawyers and spirit mediums. Morrigan folded her arms satisfied with her work. "Now you should be able to keep up in a fight. What do you think?"

"I'm still taking this all in, but… I feel strange… like I do right after particularly intense training..."

"Same here… I feel like I can take on anything!" said Pearl.

Demitri gives an amused smirk. "Hmph, Morrigan, you have the oddest hobbies."

"Do you guys feel up for this?" asked Felicia.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm as ready as I'll ever be." replied Phoenix.

"If I really do have powers now, then yes!" said Athena.

"GO! GO!" said Widget on her neck.

"I might sound crazy right now, but let's do this!" said Apollo as he felt power in his bracelet.

"This is just unbelievable..." said Edgeworth.

"Well, you better figure out how because here comes those freaks!" said Haggar.

Everyone turned to see the kali stick armed humanoid blobs advancing towards them.

"Hmph… insects..." said Demitri as his aura flared.

The vampire noble threw both his arms back gathering his energies at the same time Morrigan raised her fist in the air collecting energies into it.

"FLARE!"

"SOUL FIST!"

A huge ball of searing fire and a ball of ethereal light shot forth at the front of the kalihands, taking a good number of them out in a combined explosion.

The moon shined brightly in the night sky as Jon looked up at it, feeling his power overtaking him.

"I guess it can't be helped..." said Jon as he clutched his head. His hair got wilder as his teeth started to elongate and sharpen. To everyone but the Darkstalkers' surprise, Jon bent over as he underwent his lycanthrope transformation with a snarl. His body bulked out enough for him to tear out of his top and shoes followed by his body growing out white and dark blue fur, leaving him clad in just his dark purple kung fu pants and a yellow sash. His feet reformed to look like white furred wolf paws with three-inch yellow claws protruding from each digit. His hands suddenly grew out white fur with four inch claws from his fingers. Jon's head reformed and elongated to form a wolf's head with his blue and white hair spiking out. Finally, a a thick wavy tail sprouted from the small of his back. Once his transformation was finished, Jon looked up and let out a howl at the moon.

"He's a werewolf!?" said Apollo.

"Was wondering when you'd suit up." said Demitri.

"Like I had a choice." said Jon. He had to admit, he was stronger fighting in his werewolf form.

"Then it's first come first serve." said Morrigan as her wings suddenly changed into what looked like a jet pack, causing her to rocket forward.

Demitri followed by quickly flying forward with his arms folded. Felicia and Jon ran after them on all fours. The citizens of Metro City managed to get over their initial shock as they remembered the fight ahead and ran to join them.

Demitri dashed in with a hard straight punch at a kalihand's head which knocked it hard into another behind it then lashed out with a side kick into a third's gut, knocking it down. Another kalihand jumped at Demitri, swinging its kali sticks down on him, but the vampire lord quickly draped his cape around himself to block it. After stopping the attack, Demitri smashed it away with a backfist punch. He dashed forward, vanishing from view as another kalihand attacked him before reappearing behind it, landing a high kick to the back of its head. Three kalihands suddenly jumped at Demitri from above in different directions. Before they could land their attacks, his cape suddenly transformed into large bat wings as he launched himself upwards while going into a topspin followed by an energy beam spiraling around his body.

"DEMON CRADLE!"

The three kalihands were instantly sliced to bits from Demitri's attack.

Morrigan charged in with both feet as they were wrapped up in her wings, forming a drill point, plowing through two kalihands. Turning, she wrapped a wing around her fist to form a spike as she punch through another kalihand then back kicked one behind her. Three kalihands charged at her from the front, which Morrigan responds by spreading her wings, in which spear-shaped tendrils shot out and skewered them. Another kalihand tried to attack Morrigan from the side, but was blocked by her wing.

"SHADOW BLADE!"

Morrigan goes into a rising uppercut with her wing that took the shape of a blade, slicing the kalihand in twain.

Felicia scratched down a kalihand with a cross slash attack from her claws before flipping forward to kick out at another while balancing on her tail. She scratched at another kalihand in the face before punching it away then upperscratches a second kalihand, slicing its upper body in twain. A kalihand jumped at Felicia, but is met with a high kick in its gut before being flung aside into another. The catwoman crouched down as two more kalihands charged at her.

"SAND SPLASH!"

Kicking out her leg, shot forth a wave if ki that knocked the kalihands down and out.

Jon snarled as he slashed a kalihand's arm off with his claws before sending it flying with an uppercut. He does a reverse spin kick that knocked out two other kalihands trying to attack him then chomped another kalihand by the throat before throwing it like a spent chew toy. Jon then jumped to avoid a kalihand's overhead attack that hit the ground where he was a moment ago and countered it with a flying kick. Another kalihand struck at Jon, who quickly took out his steel nunckahus to block the attack before pushing it off and whacked it a few times with them. Pocketing them, Jon looked ahead to see two Kalihands rushing him from different directions before flaring his aura.

"AWOOOOOOO!"

With a howl, Jon was surrounded in blue flame as he rocketed toward one of the kalihands, resembling a comet. After taking it out, he suddenly switched direction and bashed the other kalihand down.

"Of course they'd be strong since they're basically like movie monsters." said Cody as he uppercuts a kalihand away from himself. He dashed forward to deck a kalihand with two hook punches then does a jumping spinning kick that knocked down two other kalihands trying to get him from both sides. Cody jumped and dropped down on a kalihand with a knee kick before quickly lashing out with a high kick, knocking it away. Upon landing, Cody wound up and whacked another kalihand in the head with an overhead punch before jumping over it to hit another with a flying kick. Clenching his fist, Cody thre his arm back.

"TORNADO SMASH!"

Throwing his fist forward, Cody shot a ball of high pressure wind at a kalihand's chest that knocked it over.

Guy did a fast sliding kick that knocked a kalihand off its feet before being punched away. Dodging a kalihand's thrust, Guy got behind it and slammed it to the ground before finishing it with two downward punches. Guy jumped at another kalihand, planting his foot on its chest before lashing out with his other leg in a backflip kick while striking down another behind him with a downward kick on landing. He jumped into a topspin, knocking away two kalihands with a rapid spinning kick. Landing, Guy strikes a kalihand in the chest with a charging elbow strike followed by a backfist punch. Gathering ki into his hand, Guy punched another kalihand in the gut with a palm thrust, causing a blast of ki to erupt out its back.

Maki spun her tonfas as she struck out at the kalihands. She tagges two of them in the heads then blocked a stick strike from another before giving it a tonfa punch to the face then hits another in the head with a spinning kick. Maki went into a flying kick at a kalihand in which she springboards off it to flying kick another one then springboards off that to do an overhead double tonfa smash on a third. Rearing back, Maki downs a kalihand with a tonfa hook attack.

Haggar uppercuts a kalihand high where it crashed painfully into the ground then grabbed another where he jumped and piledrived it onto another unfortunate kalihand under them. He then runs up and hits a kalihand in the chest with a rushing drop kick, making it roll away. Getting up, Haggar grabbed the wrist of a kalihand that tried to swipe at him before overhead slamming it into the ground. Haggar looked up to see more headed his way and laced his hands together.

"VIOLENT AX!"

He swung his fists into a horizontal swipe with knocked the first kalihand to the side, then spun around to hit the second up and flying behind him with an upward swing, then smashed the third into the pavement with a hammer punch.

Some of the kalihands broke through to charge at Phoenix's group, thinking them to be easy targets.

"MAYA! LOOK OUT!" shouted Phoenix as a kalihand leaped at her.

"KYA! S-ST-STEEL SAMURAI!" shouted Maya as she held her arms up in an attempt to shield herself. Suddenly, the kalihand was knocked away from her. Looking up, she and her friends were shocked as to what they were staring at. Floating before her was a silverish bulky-looking man with a black samurai topknot, thick ropes tie around his torso, and red hakama pants. In his hands was a red-shafted spear with a straight blade. He looked robotic but somewhat human at the same time. The sound of taiko drums could be heard.

"No way..." said Phoenix.

"It's… the Steel Samurai?" said Edgeworth in disbelief.

The Steel Samurai said nothing as he swiped at more kalihands with his spear.

"Yeah! The Steel Samurai is here!" said Maya.

"Well, maybe this will work, too!" said Pearl. "PINK PRINCESS!"

Suddenly, a female version of the Steel Samurai appeared, but more lithe in build and wearing a pink kimono and pink hair done up in a geisha style with a long tail.

"Oh! She really came!" said Pearl.

Taking out her rapier, Pink Princess charged in and stabbed out at more kalihands.

"I feel as if I walked into an unaired episode!" said Athena.

"That's all well and good, but how are we supposed to fight?" asked Apollo. "Didn't their wish affect us, too?"

"Wait, they did say they wished our lawyer skills have become weaponized." said Phoenix in thought. "Maybe..."

"WRIGHT!" shouted Edgeworth.

Phoenix looked up to see two kalihands jumping at him.

"GYAH! HOLD IT!" shouted Phoenix as he held his hands out in an attempt to ward the monsters off. To his and everyone else's surprise, the kalihands got knocked back by what looked like a huge speech bubble reading "HOLD IT!" before vanishing. "Did… did that actually work?"

More started heading their way.

"This is ridiculous, but… HOLD IT!" shouted Edgeworth as two more kalihands were send flying from a huge speech bubble.

"Maybe, but it's working!" said Apollo. He felt something in his pocket. "Huh? What the…?" Reaching into his pocket, Apollo pulled out a cellphone in an evidence bag. "Is this crime evidence? Where did this come from and what am I supposed to do with it, present it?"

As if on cue, the cellphone glowed and shot up three energy orbs that floated above a surprised Apollo's head, which then each shot out a laser that blasted through three kalihands before vanishing.

"Apollo! You discovered something!" said Athena as she checked her own pockets, where she found what looked like a file folder she knew she didn't have before. She yelped when a kalihand ran at her, causing her to reflexively hold the file out front, in which a large energy orb slowly flew forward. It exploded as soon as the kalihand ran into it, sending it flying back.

"Looks like you've figured out your abilities! Shouldn't expect less from the best attorneys I know!" said Maya as she had Steel Samurai run through more kalihands with his spear. Pearl had directed Pink Princess to rapid-stab at other kalihands, turning them into pinchusions.

The four attorneys nodded and prepared for battle, and not in the courtroom.

After seeing what Apollo and Athena did, Phoenix checked his pockets where he also found crime evidence he knew he didn't have before. One was a knife in an evidence bag, the other a photo with a shadow silhouette. He held out the knife, which shot three energy beams in a spreadshot, taking down three kalihands. After that, he tested the photo, which shout out a fast piercing straight laser that blasted through two more.

'_So the knife is a three-way shot, and the photo is like a laser gun. These could be useful!'_ thought Phoenix.

Edgeworth checked his pockets where he also found two pieces of crime evidence on himself like Phoenix, but his was a cracked flower vase in a plastic bag, and a broken watch in a plastic bag. He held out the vase first, which shot an arching energy beam that slammed on the head of a kalihand. When he tried the watch, it shot out a large fast moving energy orb that blew away three other kalihands.

'_So the vase is like an arcing arrow while the watch is used like a hand cannon. Ridiculous, but effective.__'_ thought Edgeworth.

Apollo used the cellphone to fire more beams at the kalihands until one that got past rushed at him. Not having enough time to use the phone, Apollo reflexively punched at it. To his surprise, the bracelet shot a ring-shaped projectile, knocking it away.

'_Did my bracelet do that?'_

Athena ran around leaving behind energy orbs in her wake with the file as she tried avoiding the kalihands pursuing her.

"There must be something else I could try!" said Athena as she tapped Widget on her neck, activating her Mood Matrix as its holo-screen appeared before her. "It worked with everyone else, so I hope this does, too!"

Seeing more of the monsters running toward her, she tapped the surprise icon. The holoscreen suddenly shot a large rock right at a kalihand.

'_A rock? Then what do the others do?'_

Athena tapped the sadness icon, which shot a torrent of water to knock a second kalihand down. Next, she tried the joy icon, which shot a large ball of pressurized air that knocked down a third. Finally, Athena tried the anger icon, which shot a gout of flame that roasted two more kalihands.

"I'm an elemental princess!" said Athena.

Now that they discovered how their abilities worked, the lawyers and spirit mediums were no longer afraid and fought back against the monsters.

The carnage continued until every last one of the kalihands had fallen.

Demitri flapped his cape. "Hmph. Worthless."

Jon let out a triumphant howl to the moon.

"Finally over..." said Maki.

"If they know what's good for them, they'll stay down!" said Haggar.

Like before, the humanoid blobs melted away upon defeat.

Morrigan raised her eyebrow. "Well that's new."

"It happened before the last time We fought them." said Felicia before turning towards Phoenix's group. "Hey! You okay back there?"

"We're fine, Felicia, surprisingly." replied Phoenix, still not believing what they all just did and actually won. "I never thought I'd have a courtroom battle like that..."

Steel Samurai and Pink Princess then vanished once the fight was over.

"Your trick worked, Morrigan! I feel like we've become like superheroes or something!" said Maya.

"Well that was your wish, after all." said Morrigan.

"After everything that's happened, even I have to be forced to accept it." said Edgeworth. First those monsters, then supernatural creatures, now characters from a show he's secretly a fan of coming to life, it had been a crazy day.

"It looks like we've won for now." said Guy. "Who knows when more will show up."

"By the way, shouldn't the castle be unlocked now since the monsters are all gone?" asked Pearl.

"It is now." replied Demitri. "Like the red-clad human said, more might show up. I've better use of my time than to waste on insects."

Before they could all head inside, the ground began to shake.

"Hey! What's going on now!?" said Jon as he and the others tried to maintain their balance.

Everyone looked around to see where the source of the shaking was until a huge globe of dark energies formed near a part of the castle's exterior.

"What in the hell is that!?" asked Haggar.

"Is it more of those things?" asked Apollo.

"No, it's something else!" said Morrigan.

The shaking stopped once the dark energy globe dissipated. In its place was what looked like a piece of a brick building with big wooden double doors. It seemed to have merged with the castle's structure.

"What? Just what is that inelegant thing formed on my castle!?" said Demitri in an indignant tone.

"It looks like… a shop?" said Felicia as she looked at the neon sign above the door. "Hmmm… 'Devil May Cry'…? What kind of shop is that?"

"Hey, I hear something." said Athena.

Voices were heard behind the door.

"Hey, I think we just hit solid ground."

"We did? Does it mean it's safe outside?"

"Hopefully. Better check."

The door opened slightly. After a moment, it was flung open by a white-haired man in a red trench coat.

"We've got solid ground, people!" said Dante.

Joe suddenly jumped past him and fell on all fours. "LAND! FINALLY! SWEET LAND!"

"It felt like forever..." said Chris as he and the others exited the building. "But, where is this place?"

"Looks like a castle. Terrific..." said Leon. He didn't have a good experience with castles since that time in Spain during the Los Illuminados incident.

"Feels like the Demon World..." said Trish.

"More humans?"

The voice of Demitri caught their attention as they looked over to the group of people to the side. Ten of them looked human, but the other four looked like supernatural beings.

"Who are you and how did you get on my castle?" Demitri demanded of the newcomers.

"Uh..." started Silvia who was at a loss of how to answer.

"Owner seems annoyed at us." said Trish.

"Sorry for barging in like this, buddy, but it wasn't exactly our fault. We just got transported here somehow." replied Dante.

"Please! We mean no harm here!" said Jill.

"Well they certainly look human." said Pearl.

"Ooh! And what a fine collection of ladies..." said Dante as he eyed Pearl, Athena, Maya, Maki, Morrigan, and Felicia.

"You said it." said Frank as he got his camera to bear. He took a shot of the group, marking "Special" on the screen. He then zoomed in to take shots of Maya, Athena, Maki, and Pearl, which labeled "Erotica" on the screen. Frank then turned to take shots of Felicia and Morrigan, who reflexively posed for him, causing him to do multiple shots for each, all getting "Erotica" repeatedly on screen.

"Hope you took good ones, sweetie." said Morrigan.

"Did you get my good side?" asked Felicia, her star personality showing.

"That and then some! FAN-TASTIC!" replied Frank.

Joe immediately rushed up to the succubus and catwoman.

"Hey there, ladies! Would you like to go out with a Henshin Hero? We'll have a grand time!"

Before Felicia or Morrigan could respond, Joe gets whacked on the head from behind by an annoyed Silvia.

"Keep it in your pants, Joe." said Silvia as she dragged him back. Felicia looked worried while Morrigan just giggled in amusement.

"They don't seem to be enemies." said Phoenix.

"Hardly." added Jon.

"Um, maybe we should discuss this inside?" suggested Maya.

"I'm with the kimono girl." said Lady.

Demitri could only sigh in annoyance. "Very well. I suppose it's the gentlemanly thing to do. I am Demitri Maximoff, Lord of Castle Zeltzereich." He flapped his cape as he turned around. "This way."

He walked towards the doors leading inside.

"Finally! I could use a rest after that fighting!" said Athena as she and the others followed the vampire.

"Is this really a good idea?" asked Barry.

"Where else can we go, Barry? Our options are quite limited." said Claire.

"True..."

"This scoop is getting really big." said Frank.

The doors to the castle opened to provide the large group entry.

To be continued…

Based the Ace Attorney crew's fighting off of how Phoenix and Maya fought in MvC3 and PxZ2.

Looks like Demitri's castle has a new addition, whether he likes it or not, plus more unannounced guests. Next time, more trouble comes to Makai.


End file.
